


Where the Wind Rises

by Blue_Sparkle



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Anal Sex, Fantasy AU, Fantasy World, Getting Back Together, Jack and Gabriel are Mages, Lovers to enemies to lovers, M/M, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Past Relationship(s), Quest, Reconciliation, Slow Getting Back Together Sex, Some descriptions of fights and violence as well as injury, Various Fantasy Creatures, tags in the chapters, the fights and injury is all due to said fantasy creatures
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-22
Updated: 2018-02-21
Packaged: 2019-02-18 15:21:29
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 55,505
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13103010
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Blue_Sparkle/pseuds/Blue_Sparkle
Summary: Years of not speaking or even seeing Jack after a falling out and the last thing Gabriel wants to do is to spend any amount of time stuck in his company. But when a strange blight spreads across the lands, and people set out to try and search for a solution, it seems only natural that two powerful mages team up to try and fix it for the good of the land. Even Gabriel isn't too proud and stubborn to let past wrongs get in the way of an important quest after all.Updates Thursdays





	1. High Happenstances

**Author's Note:**

  * For [clickclickBANG](https://archiveofourown.org/users/clickclickBANG/gifts).



> //Edit: Here's a map of this world, in case you're curious: http://asparklethatisblue.tumblr.com/post/169040176453
> 
> My Secret Santa fic for Mel, which of course got away from me the second I got a little bit too excited about the plot. Mel, I'm incredibly fond of your work and I really hope you like what I've tried to write for you, even if it got more than a little out of hand.
> 
> This fic is nearly complete at the posting date, and currently it looks like it will be about 9 or 10 chapters depending on how the conclusion will go once I get to writing it. Many thanks to Lena for letting me ramble on about the plot and ideas from day one! I'm not sure if I could have come up with anything without the support!
> 
> Happy Holidays, and Enjoy!

A groan escaped Gabriel’s lips before consciousness had even returned to him fully. The first thing he noticed was that he was at least somewhere warm and comfortable, despite the ache all through his body, as well as the unpleasant prickling sensation in his fingers and feet that pushed itself to the forefront of his mind. He was wrapped in blankets and his head rested against something incredibly soft, which meant that he was somewhere safe, and that somebody had decided to help with the cold he still felt in his core.

Warm dark browns came in and out of focus as Gabriel tried to open his eyes to see where he was. What met him was fabric and blankets taking up his field of vision, as well as the dancing glow of a fire. It was hard to fight against the unconscious bliss that had cradled him just moments before, and Gabriel was certain that he drifted back to sleep and then back to consciousness again a few times instead of just waking up.

With decreased sleepiness came increased memories and awareness of where he ought to be.

This wasn’t his home, or a tent he put up for sure, as the last thing he remembered was fighting and trying to escape through snow that piled up to his hips. Someone must have rescued him then, just moments after he lost track of his surroundings, as Gabriel doubted that he could have forgotten dragging himself into some cabin all by himself just to forget. He recalled a mountain path, far more snow than he knew what to do with, and wind whipping it against his exposed face despite any attempt to pull up a shield spell to counter it. Nature rarely cared for his efforts anyway.

And the howling, of course. Gabriel hadn’t spared enough precious seconds to properly identify whatever the hells had decided to spit out to bother him in the loathsome terrain, but the sight of icy fur and fangs that seemed massive even at a distance had been enough to know he didn’t want to deal with it.

He’d ran, casting fire and muttering incantations that would cause the beast’s legs to slip and stumble, all the while sensing the howls coming closer too quickly no matter what he did. Gabriel frowned as he tried to remember what had happened next, as he clearly was alive and hadn’t ended up as a chew toy for some demonic beast. The rocky terrain had both helped in trying to slip away from the things, and ended up being his literal downfall. He’d slipped down a slope that just wouldn’t end and kept turning steeper and steeper until the mage had finally lost his footing on the snow and ended up rolling and falling down at a breakneck speed. Gabriel hadn’t had the time to feel relief about the angry howls staying behind or to raise a hand to cast something to slow his fall, before something had hit him the wrong way and thrown him into darkness.

That explained the ache in his body at least. Really, he had to thank the gods for being lucky enough to survive that encounter, the fall, and for sending somebody his way to actually pick him up and drag him away.

Finally Gabriel managed to blink and force himself to keep his eyes open for a look around. He was indeed in a small tent, the kind that was probably only meant for one person but offered enough room to move around and tinker with things. The latter was made obvious by the ropes and small tools hanging off a few hooks at the top of the ceiling, ones Gabriel recognized as the tools of a potion brewer. A pretty silver mortar set with runes carved on the side kept his attention for a few moments, before he cautiously moved his head so as not to stir any of his injuries to look for any sign of his rescuer.

First he saw the source of the flickering light, a flat wooden bowl painted with yet more runes and a small fire burning inside, and a figure sat by it, stirring something that smelled of herbs in a little cauldron such as apothecaries often used. Containing the flames with magic obviously meant his rescuer knew more than just the art of coaxing magic from plants, or that they could pay for a mage to enchant proper objects for those without a gift, which rarely came cheap. Either way, it had been quite some time since Gabriel had encountered another mage.

Gabriel took a few moments of staring at the cauldron and fire before deciding that he couldn’t gleam much from it, before looking back up at the person in front of it. They were wrapped in a blanket, thinner than the ones that were piled on Gabriel, and they seemed to be a little cold from the way they kept shifting and pulling the fabric tighter. Only a little tuft of golden blond hair was visible above the fabric with the way the person was leaning over, and Gabriel couldn’t make out much besides that and a pale hand stirring the potion. He did notice the heavy staff at the person’s side, decorated with tightly wrapped blue ribbons and symbols edged into the wood, confirming once and for all that this was a mage or cleric of some kind.

Lying still Gabriel stared at the staff with a frown, trying to decide what to think of the situation now. He was starting to get the feeling that this stranger wanted something with him, experience telling him that lonely wandering mages didn’t often run to his rescue to go out of their way to take care of his unconscious form. The staff looked as if it had been used as a good old fashioned club as well, with scratches covering the otherwise polished surface, making it similar to what some soldiers and guards carried when magic wasn’t their main weapon and they could smack an opponent about if spells didn’t do the job or just took too long. Gabriel didn’t exactly have a good experience with encountering those in the wilds either.

It also reminded Gabriel of things he did not wish to think about-

A quick glance around didn’t reveal the location of his own gear immediately, but Gabriel didn’t need a staff to channel magic through; he could defend himself just fine using his hands should this be someone he didn’t want to be around. There was no use in bracing himself for the worst though. The kind of staff a mage used didn’t always indicate everything about style and power or personality, and he _had_ been saved from some beasts by this stranger.

Carefully curling his fingers into fists and gently shifting first his feet and then his legs Gabriel tried to gauge the extent of his injuries and whether he could move properly. He could feel all his limbs and everything moved as it should, which meant he hadn’t damaged anything too much and the weather hadn’t gotten to him. He must have been saved quite soon after passing out. When he tried to brace his elbows into the ground and sit up a stabbing sensation shot through his shoulder and chest, making him hiss and drop back against the pillow.

Alerted by the noise the other person in the tent sat up straight and turned towards him. The second Gabriel saw who it was he absurdly wished to take his chance with the beasts instead.

“Try not to move around too much while the medicine works its-“

“Fucking hells, why are _you_ here Morrison?”

Jack’s words died in his throat the second Gabriel snapped at him, a hint of concern on his face gone just as quickly as Gabriel had spoken. His hand was half outstretched as if to support Gabriel, a friendly gesture as if nothing had ever happened between them. Jack froze in place for a few seconds, before dropping his hand and letting out a grunt. Gabriel could feel his heart pounding and his jaw clenched in anger as they stared at each other, until Jack finally shook his head and returned his attention to the pot.

“This is my camp for the day, where else would I be?”

He sounded so nonchalant; as if he didn’t know what Gabriel must feel seeing him so soon after waking up, as if it was perfectly normal to have their foe in ones tent and Gabriel was the silly one for asking.

“Then why the fuck am _I_ here?”

Gabriel’s blood felt like it would boil and freeze over at the same time, his body’s decision to slowly remind him of the injuries and pain as well not contributing anything to his mood.

Jack scoffed but didn’t answer as he reached to a small bag by his side to pluck some vials from it and tip their content into his cauldron. The action allowed Gabriel to take his appearance in properly, to see the ways he had changed in the years they hadn’t seen each other.

Still radiating a pale gold aura in the right light, still quiet and not seeming like more than a simple magician when he was quiet and focused on work. There were a few spots of white streaked in with Jack’s golden hair, and he looked more tired than Gabriel had ever seen him as, older perhaps. The most shocking change were the two deep gashes that ran across his face, one cutting through Jack’s lips and the other running from his forehead over his chin and down his neck, and somewhere under his anger Gabriel felt a spark of concern about how Jack had earned those.

After stirring the potion a few times Jack finally deigned to answer.

“I was scouting for supplies when I noticed the presence of magic and found you fighting for your life. You were being chased by Cù Sìth and if you hadn’t broken your neck escaping they’d have found a way to catch up with you eventually. I figured I’d rather get you out of there than count on you also having a great-grandpa who told you stories about how to avoid those particular things. Especially since I know for sure that you’re unfamiliar with the northern Shurdlands.”

Gabriel worked his jaw angrily before conceding that Jack was probably right. They had always had different areas of expertise, different sets of knowledge about different types of creatures based on what their family had taught them and where they had studied to hone their skills. Gabriel had grown up by the sea and wandered the country of Marraclei, while Jack’s hailed from the northern islands of the Zarrbar region, home to various beasts Gabriel had only seen in incomplete dusty manuscripts.

“Thank you for rescuing me from hellhounds then,” Gabriel muttered, and Jack threw him a look as if the open gratitude surprised him.

Gabriel glared in return. Regardless of how he felt about Jack, and how he’d rather throw a good punch in his face than lie around and watch him work, he still had been raised to be polite to anyone who happened to save his life.

Bearing the pang of pain followed by the motion Gabriel finally managed to sit up properly. It hurt, but he was sure that nothing major was broken or injured. He’d probably find bruises that evening if he found a nice place to bathe in, but he had dealt with worse. Jack watched warily but didn’t protest or insist he mind his injuries like he used to do, so that just confirmed it.

His boots and bag were laid out by his feet where they were hard to spot while lying down, and Gabriel noticed his coat among the blankets that covered him. He was quick about getting dressed and grabbing his pack to stand up as straight as the tent allowed.

“Don’t expect me to return the favour if you need me,” Gabriel growled at Jack as he walked towards where he thought the tent’s exit was. “If anything, this makes us even.”

“You can’t leave-“ Jack started, but pressed his lips together at Gabriel’s angry glare.

“Do you want to control me again?”

Gabriel reached for the tent flap, pushing it aside and leaning out to take in his surroundings.

What greeted him was the side of a mountain too steep to climb, and endless grey sky in every direction. His eyes were dragged to the ground, only to find that there was none, and only glimpses were visible through fog and clouds, impossibly far away, the abyss calling up mockingly.

Gabriel’s stomach lurched as he took a step back, trying to understand why he seemed to be thousands of feet up in the air. He wasn’t afraid of height, had even used various kinds of magic to fly before, but something about the entire situation made his knees shake.

Jack, with the little bit of decency he had in him, didn’t outwardly smirk or mock Gabriel for his obvious reaction of fear.

“The tent is attached to a mountainside for safety,” he explained as Gabriel firmly closed the tent flap again. “Nothing unpleasant can reach me unless it’s willing to fly this high up, and the ones who can usually don’t bother.”

Gabriel glared at him as he sat back down on the blankets, still uneasy with the thought of the drop just below his feet, separated by a thin layer of tent. Instead he watched Jack’s hands stir and add ingredients to his potions, distracting himself by guessing at what he was making.

The simmering tincture would occasionally make a pop and tiny golden sparks rose over it in mesmerizing circles. It smelled delicious, as did any of the things Jack had learned to make from his mother. He had always been incredibly skilled at making ointments and potions for medicine or to enhance plants and animals in different ways. Though he wasn’t inclined to study potions enough to become a Master of this art or gather some acclaim, Jack could have easily returned to his old village and be a hedge witch of some sort. Any small community would be beside themselves with joy if Jack chose them to settle down with.

Finally Jack took down a small ladle from a hook on the tent’s side, and started scooping his potion into apple sized clay bottles, carefully corking each and putting it in his bag. The last scoop was filled into a flat earthenware bowl and placed before Gabriel. Jack dragged his flat palm a hair’s breadth over the liquid and spoke a quiet word.

“There, you should feel better soon.”

Immediately the potion took on a warm golden glow and filled the tent with an aura of warmth and safety.

Despite his anger towards Jack Gabriel couldn’t help but let out a pleased sigh. The ache of his bruises melted away better than in any hot bath and peace settled in. He’d missed those fields of healing, a specialty Jack had often used to speed up the healing process of any injury and for easing pain.

He relaxed and shifted to sit more comfortably, still keeping an eye on Jack though. Gabriel didn’t like his current situation, trapped on some mountain on Jack’s whim. Though Jack was eying him warily in turn there wasn’t any suspicion or malicious intent Gabriel could detect, but he could never know how deep Jack’s own grudge regarding their past went. Jack was to blame for quite a lot, but it was his own righteousness that had caused him to cross Gabriel like he had…

“Why are you here then?” Gabriel asked, hoping that a semi-polite conversation would help the field of healing take away the unease about his exact location. “Not in this tent on a brief stop, I mean. What’s your actual purpose in wandering in these mountains to begin with.”

Jack looked at his potion supplies for a moment, and Gabriel thought he’d avoid answering when he finally shrugged.

“I’m trying to make my way to the Source of Wind.”

Gabriel scoffed.

“You following me after all?”

This time it was Jack’s turn to let out an annoyed grunt.

“What, you think you’re the only one following the call to investigate? With how important this is and how much of a challenge it is to reach it these days many more will try.”

Gabriel regarded him for a while before deciding that this was probably true. Every ruler of every city had probably promised some sort of reward or blessing for those who could find out why the Wind had started to die down and become a mere shadow of its former self in the past years. When the calls for action started to be proclaimed widely, Gabriel had been in Dubleys, the capital of the Aleon Kingdom and incidentally the unified country closest to the Source of the Wind. He’d heard King Reinhardt give a speech personally, asking for warriors and mages alike to join him for this cause or set out alone, as an organised army would have one hell of a time crossing the Source Mountains. Gabriel had followed the call mostly because anything that was powerful enough to corrupt the Wind wasn’t to be taken lightly, and because he wanted to see if he could conquer that danger. Nobody would benefit from the Wind actually dying anyway, so he might as well be the one to fix things.

And Jack… Well, Gabriel had known him for long enough to be aware of Jack’s sense of duty and the need to do what nobody else could or wanted. The second he’d heard about the situation he’d be up and running towards where he could handle it himself.

They sat in silence after that, watching the field’s glow slowly grow fainter and fainter until the magic was gone and Gabriel felt a slight chill at the absence. Then Jack started to pack his supplies back where they belonged and rose to his feet, motioning for Gabriel to do the same.

“It’s time to set out for me, if I want to make use of this day to travel. It’d be easiest if I uh- helped you reach a path you can walk on easier.”

Jack spread his arms awkwardly and gestured at the space between Gabriel and himself. Gabriel paled as he realized what Jack was suggesting, hating how he still knew him and his dumb magic habits so well, and how once he’d blindly trusted him with things he hated. But he had to rely on Jack’s magic to get him down to solid ground again, his own spells would be slow and difficult and perhaps even dangerous if he miscalculated his descent.

With a growl Gabriel tied his bag over his shoulder and stepped into Jack’s space, only inches apart. They hadn’t been so close since before it came to blows between them. Jack’s arms wrapped around his waist securely, an iron grip that once used to be reassurance and safety and now made Gabriel feel like he ought to run and rely on his own powers despite the risks.

He let himself be walked backwards towards the tent’s flap, and wrapped his arms around Jack to clutch at his coat as soon as he felt cold wind hit his skin. Jack paused to ready himself and the way they stood Gabriel could feel his heels edging over the abyss.

The air was torn by an invisible mass extending on either side of him, and the tent creaked as Jack bid it to fold itself together to return into his bag the second he stepped over the threshold, saving him on having to pack it together manually.

Jack’s hands never wavered as Gabriel felt their balance shift, felt gravity pull at him and the second Jack’s legs pushed them off solid ground he squeezed his eyes shut and hid his face against Jack’s neck.

A few precious seconds he was sure something had gone wrong and they were falling, before invisible feathers brushed over his side and the pair was pulled forwards and up by the power of Jack’s spell of flight.

It was an exhausting thing, pulling both from Jack’s arcane and physical energy and leaving him drained when he used it for too long. Doubly so when carrying the weight of a man about his size, and especially as Jack was taking care to fly steadier than he was used to. There was no trust between them anymore, no agreement or affection left, and Gabriel was all too aware of this and the space between his back and the ground below.

This was just aggravated by the fact that his and Jack’s magic was inherently opposed. Not in that their magic interfered with one another, but in that it just flowed so differently that Gabriel could feel his hair stand on end. Jack’s had always been focused and solid like crystal, gathering immense power into one small pinprick of force, while Gabriel could only describe his own as twisting and running over the brim at all times. Not unusual given the different schools of magic they had been brought up with, but now, pressed close to Jack’s body and only saved from falling to his death by their grip on each other the sensation of invisible wings brushing past him was too much to bear. It was not the sort of magic Gabriel himself could handle easily, and to have his life depend on it made his instincts scream to run away.

It hadn’t used to be that way…

Taking a deep breath Gabriel pushed aside his pride and hurt, pressed his face against Jack’s shoulder, and tried to forget the past decade. Tried to remember how it had felt when Jack had mastered this spell and asked Gabriel to test whether he could carry more than his own weight. Back then they had been younger, and perhaps a bit foolish but they had chosen to fly over water, knowing that the salty waves were Gabriel’s element so much so that he would easily let them catch him should Jack’s hold slip.

The memory of salty wind and feeling safe despite the buzz of magic was easy to recall, and somehow Gabriel relaxed.

For the rest of the journey he managed to convince himself that the rush of the wind was really just the familiar lull of the ocean, and that he was still in his twenties without a care in the world, and that Jack hadn’t shown what he really thought of Gabriel yet. It was easier than he’d like to admit.


	2. Over Hill and Dale

When the pair finally reached solid ground Gabriel had stumble over to a small pine growing nearby and hold on to it to stop himself from falling over, his knees shaking too much to hide it. At least Jack didn’t take notice, falling to his knees the second they touched down and setting down his pack with a quiet huff. The air cracked as his invisible wings dissipated into nothingness, exhaustion clear on his face.

They had travelled much further away from the part of the mountains Jack had picked him up in than Gabriel had thought they would, staying in the air for a few hours and reaching rocky hills low enough that there was no early snow covering the grass. The steep cliffs Jack had set up camp in were still visible behind them, but most of the mountains to the east and north weren’t tall enough for snow caps. From what Gabriel could tell from a first glance, they must have crossed the deep valleys and canyons that cut through the Source Mountains about one third of the way, which meant he wouldn’t need to find a way around those anymore. He would have to consult his maps to be sure, but Gabriel guessed that he was nearly a week’s worth of travel closer to the Source of Wind than he had been the day before. A good thing really, as there was no guarantee that the known paths hadn’t shifted since anyone wrote them down last, and Gabriel would take any shortcut he could get.

The area they were in now looked easy enough to travel through on foot, with flight magic and teleportation inaccurate in the wilderness or too exhausting to bother with. Gabriel could just mutter a farewell and walk away without any trouble now, but instead he remained leaned against the tree and squinted at Jack.

Without looking at Gabriel Jack picked a few things from his pack and started attaching them to his belt and around his left arm, making sure that he always had healing and hunting tools within reach. He checked the bag’s side pocket that contained more than ought to fit into a three inch square (the tent among those things), then took his staff and ran his hand over it briefly before using it to drag himself up to his feet. Only then did he glance at Gabriel to make sure he was still there.

“In one piece?” he asked drly, taking note of how Gabriel was still using the tree for support despite not having cause to be as exhausted as Jack was, and Gabriel snorted in reply. They stared at one another warily for a few moments before Jack sighed and shook his head.

“If you’re just gonna stand there you might as well keep watch while I try to determine our position.”

Jack didn’t need to explain further as he closed his eyes and leaned heavily against his staff, lips moving in a silent spell.

It amused Gabriel a little that Jack had the audacity to trust him like that while trying to coax his magic into telling him where on the map he was. It was an easy spell, but to get clear results one needed to spend quite a while focusing inwards, especially when already exhausted as Jack was from his flight, meaning that it was way too easy to sneak up on a mage doing so. It was the reason Gabriel rarely used it, preferring other means of finding information about things as simple as the direction he had to go, unwilling to leave himself vulnerable out in an unfamiliar region, especially since he started travelling alone. If he was a pettier man he’d have left Jack then and there, regardless of whether the area was safe or whether bears or nastier creatures roamed the land.

Instead Gabriel remained where he was, glancing about to take in the area and the sparse trees and rocks, making sure that there was no way anything could sneak up on them while Jack was defenceless. After a while Jack straightened and blinked against the light. He looked more steady on his feet by then, and for a moment Gabriel wondered if he had used the spell as an excuse to catch his breath and regain some energy after his flight. Jack glanced back at Gabriel again, raising his brows in mild surprise and then made a vague gesture towards where the hill slowly sloped down between rocks and yet more pines.

“This way is quickest if you want to follow it for a while.”

Gabriel shrugged.

“So north, something we both could have guessed without any magic, right?”

Jack threw him a pained look but didn’t reply. They both stood there quietly for a while, looking down the path, both thinking of how their destination was the same, making the path the same as well. They had known each other too long, and had been wandering mages even longer than that to come to the same conclusion.

“We can travel together until our opinion on the direction changes,” Gabriel offered after a while, noticing the relief on Jack’s face. At least he hadn’t thought to ask it himself, not having any right to Gabriel’s continuing company after everything. He probably would have refused on principle alone if Jack had suggested safety in numbers or any of that. “Might be better anyway, in case we find anything that one of us alone has issues with.”

Gabriel hoped that his tone was dismissive enough to imply Jack was the one needing help, despite having been saved less than a day before. He did feel a little better knowing that Jack was nearby should the hellhounds appear again. Unlikely that they would, but the kind that had attacked him was not something Gabriel had much experience with, and he didn’t appreciate the thought of fighting something he didn’t know much about.

Jack rolled his shoulders and set out down the path, not waiting to see if Gabriel would actually follow him.

“We might find some late breakfast along the way,” he said as Gabriel pushed away from the tree and walked behind.

Gabriel rolled his eyes but didn’t comment on it. They were quiet as they walked, taking care not to step on loose stones and slide down the path.

The sky was still mostly grey as they set out, through the clouds broke here and there to reveal a bit of deep blue. Occasionally Gabriel would hear water nearby, and there were signs of life everywhere, birds singing and things moving in shrubbery or trees, making everything look just like any other wilderness and not the mountain range that was part of legends. Apart from eagles up high and a few mountain goats in the distance there was nobody he could see, and that was just fine with him. 

There weren’t any settlements that he knew of in this part of the mountains, the area somehow not made for humans though the land might have provided what was needed to live. It was the energy, the soft fog of magic that usually covered everything that gently pushed any wish to live here away. The Source Mountains stretched from the middle of the Shurdlands, an area that didn’t belong to any nation but contained city states here and there as well as non human folks and nomadic tribes, and all the way up to where the eternal ice started in the polar region. It just wasn’t the kind of place humans felt the need to lay a claim on, whether it was because something about the land rejected them or whether it was because of an understanding that they didn’t belong, Gabriel didn’t care.

After about an hour of walking in silence Gabriel reached into his pocket to pull out strips of dried meat wrapped in paper. It was enough for a simple dinner, but split in half it would do as a snack. He offered some to Jack quietly, who took them with surprise and a grunt for thanks.

It was a strange combination of ease and tension to walk besides Jack. Easy, because the silence between them was familiar, because he knew they could take anything between the two of them side by side, because he had walked next to Jack for years. Tense, because this wasn’t the Jack he thought he knew way back. This was the Jack that betrayed him, that had shown that he couldn’t be trusted, not with help, not with secrets or affection and vulnerability, or anything at all. Tense, because Gabriel had spent years in cold fury at the mere thought of Jack.

Even now it was an ugly knot in his chest. Every time he glanced to the side to see Jack’s harsh profile it tightened, demanding that he do something about his anger, but brushed aside to be ignored as Gabriel couldn’t afford starting a fight in the middle of nowhere.

For years the mere thought of Jack had been enough to ruin his mood, and now they were together again, as if nothing had happened.

For years Gabriel had felt nothing but anger at anything that he used to admire about Jack. 

Once Jack had been the sweet golden farm boy turned mage and could make anyone love him with his charms and sense of justice. Now Gabriel saw how his sense of his own importance and morals drowned out any good intentions, how his stern but friendly demeanour and golden looks swayed people in his favour far too easily. 

He did what he thought was right and followed tasks and rules and common conventions, but where Gabriel had once admired his sense of duty he now wanted to grab Jack by the throat and make him stop and think why he was doing anything before running ahead to do so.

Jack had opinions on what was right and wrong, and acted as if he was far above anyone who fought or used magic in ways he found distasteful, making people like Gabriel, who used the worst kind in Jack’s eyes, feel every bit of that disdain. If Gabriel had seen that side of Jack right when they met, he wouldn’t have tried to befriend him in the first place.

And yet these memories didn’t fully overlap with what Gabriel was seeing when he looked at Jack.

Gone was the air of confidence and grandness that had followed Jack wherever he went, that had made it easy to understand why he was seen as a proper hero back in the Zarrbar region. It wasn’t that Jack now looked weak or like anyone might just mess with him, but the lines on his face along with the gashes across it and the grey in his hair had dampened the image of a proper fairy tale hero. He looked tired, was quiet in a way that didn’t feel the same as before when they were younger, and hadn’t made a single comment about the numerous faults he’d found in Gabriel at the end.

It was kind of surreal given how often Gabriel had imagined a possible confrontation with Jack, and how different this was. There was no disdain directed at him, no smug sense of righteousness or even more than Jack expressing mild annoyance towards Gabriel in a way that was too familiar and in line with what Gabriel used to listen to fondly.

The silence was never broken apart from a brief agreement to walk on until dusk and eat the dried meat instead of stopping for a proper lunch and occasional remarks about the region. Gabriel thought he caught the faint whiff of cheap liquor once when Jack opened his flask for a drink, but he chose not to comment on it.

By the time it was starting to get dark he was thoroughly exhausted, his muscles aching where Jack’s healing spells hadn’t fully eased away his injuries.

The scenery had barely changed, still full of rocks and few trees, a few of which stood close enough together to provide some shelter from wind and sight along with some shrubbery. Jack dropped his pack there and declared that this was as good a place as any to camp for the night.

The silence continued as they went about setting everything up, neither saying anything about the familiarity of the situation. The only magic used was Jack’s tent, now set up on actual solid ground and looking much more inviting now that there wasn’t a drop beneath it. They both took out some of their provisions wordlessly, placing them together as Gabriel started a fire and Jack set out to prepare a meal for two from their shared ingredients. More dried meat and a tiny bit of dry spices from Gabriel, some sort of turnip and wild carrots from Jack, enough of both to make a stew.

The food was good after the last two days Gabriel had, and for a few moments he even managed to forget who his company was. It was rare that he travelled with anyone these days, but unless he looked at Jack he could imagine that there was just another stranger by his side.

When the meal was done Jack put away the cooking pot after rinsing it out with clear water, and leaned back against one of the trees with his flask. He didn’t make a move to retreat to his tent, and Gabriel didn’t feel like entering it on his own and uninvited either. It was still too early to sleep, leaving him with nothing to do but staring at the fire.

Usually Gabriel would have occupied his time with spells or preparing talismans and the like, but Jack’s presence made him unwilling to use any of his magic. It was peaceful enough right now, so he didn’t feel like being under Jack’s scrutiny or even provoke a fight. Not when the sun was gone and he just wanted to rest.

He poked at the fire with a branch he found near his seat, while Jack stared at the sky and occasionally took a swig from his flask.

“Why are you looking for the Wind anyway?”

The sudden question after hours of nothing meaningful startled Gabriel, and it took him a moment to understand what Jack was asking.

“Whatever is messing with the Wind must be an incredibly powerful dark force, right? So I want to see if it’s a match for me and destroy it or send it back where it came from,” Gabriel explained with a shrug, deciding that it didn’t matter if Jack knew his motivation or no. “Besides, the price money I’d get from everyone from gratitude would be a nice bonus.”

Jack let out a rasping laugh, and shook his head.

“Of course that’s what you want,” he muttered, and Gabriel looked at him sharply. There was a strange fondness in Jack’s tone though, barely there under the derision, and Gabriel didn’t know what to do with that.

Jack returned to drinking from his flask and Gabriel to staring at the flames, quiet once more. Part of him wanted to snap at Jack and tell him his other reason for going on this quest, but he couldn’t bring himself to do so. He was long past any desire to prove himself worthy of a man like Jack, who in the end would never see him as an equal anyway. Not with the kind of magic Gabriel chose to study and practice, not with said magic being at the core of who Gabriel was and not something he’d ever stop or change. Any attempt to explain would just sound like he was trying to prove something anyway.

The truth was that Gabriel couldn’t bear the faint tingling sensation just under his skin he felt whenever he tried to focus and the ebb and flow of arcane energies around him. Years must have gone by since something had started to block the Wind, but those who were familiar with magic had only started to feel it recently, feeling that something was _wrong_.

The Wind was as ineffable as anything in their natural order, as steady and rhythmic as the seasons, as sure to rise as the sun every morning, as necessary to nature as the flow of streams and the tides with their occasionally fickle storms. It had just always _been_ , always rising without fail.

There had been rituals once, among more superstitious people, who would sing and pray for the Wind, who would make a tedious pilgrimage through the mountains to offer harvests or products of their crafts, young mages hoping to be blessed and gain goodwill from the Wind as well as the people whose sacrifices they carried. Some rituals remained as traces in traditions all over the continent, but it was as unnecessary as the blood sacrifices to the sun Gabriel had read about as a child. The sun would rise, and even the sun’s god, the Fire’s Messenger himself would not be able to stop it should humanity anger them. It simply _was_.

Just as the sun provided warmth and the rifts among the dimensions kept magic flowing and the currents kept the oceans from going stagnant, the Wind was just there, and there had never been anything to stop it.

Or so Gabriel had thought.

Rifts between dimensions of reality weren’t always the good kind, and those to planes of darkness and decay existed as well as those to the celestial planes and those of wild magic. They were far enough from proper civilisation to not be a bother most of the time, given that the energy seeping from them drove any sane person away. The Wind carried any of that excess energy off, spread it until one couldn’t even feel a single trace anymore, keeping any of it from pooling in one place for too long and perhaps even open actual gates one could pass through.

It wasn’t the only thing the Wind had done, which had only became apparent to laymen in its study once it stopped. Arcane lines ran all over the world, crossing and knotting here and there, trees and rivers and even rocks had their own specific energy, and all of it was subject to a natural flow, just like wind and water. The Wind had cleansed it, prevented it from becoming congested and wilting, spreading it just like the demonic energy from rifts, though there was more of that than of the dark kind.

Gabriel had read up on it when worry about the Wind first became common among mages, and later among those without a sense for the arcane. It had only confirmed what he had started feeling in his bones. Overflowing and always reaching magic like the kind Gabriel gathered about himself like a shroud also lent itself to feeling for the way other magic moved around him. He had barely managed to cast proper sparks as a child when his mother had taught him to feel for it deliberately. She taught him how to sense danger and find the way home by recognizing from which direction familiar magic flowed, and how to tell how old a tree was or how to find things clumsily hidden by magic.

It had made Gabriel sensitive to all sorts of things, helping him recognize schools of magic or sources of energy, but now that something was wrong with the absence of Wind all it did was make his skin crawl near constantly. It was a little as if everything was just one day away from rotting every day, as if a once lush lake had been cut off from any river or current leaving it to grow dirty over time. 

He _did_ want to test his strength against something that could halt the Wind, but Gabriel felt he’d do anything to fix the ever growing wrongness he felt all over the place.

Finally Jack made a dismissive motion with his hand.

“I’ll take the first watch, go sleep. You can take one of the healing potions if you want to fix yourself up some more.”

Gabriel huffed as he was torn from his thoughts but did as he was told, entering the tent without a look back to where Jack was still staring at the fire, hands clutching around his flask. He decided against picking any of Jack’s healing potions, feeling like it wasn’t worth wasting the magic and not knowing how much it would interfere with his sleep.

The tent was relatively small, offering enough room to prepare simple potions over a tiny fire and space to stretch out and sleep. Barely enough for two grown men, so Gabriel grabbed some of the blankets that still were lying around just the way they’d left them that morning, and curled up as close to the tent’s wall as possible. Should Jack decide to sleep without asking Gabe to take over the watch he ought to have enough room for some privacy.

To Gabriel’s disdain the blankets smelled faintly like the comfort of healing fields and Jack. It had been too long since he’d been so close to that sort of comfort, and just as long since that comfort fulfilled what it promised. Sometimes, in his lonelier moments he wished that nothing had ever happened, that he didn’t know what Jack thought of his magic, nor that neither of them had done any of the things that had let to what they were now. Just so things could be as they were, as they could never be again.

It wasn’t any easier now that Jack was actually there. He wasn’t angry, wasn’t snapping at Gabriel for being a fool like he had the last time they saw each other, he wasn’t indicating that he even thought about the incident at all, other than giving Gabriel space and seeming to expect Gabriel to strike first. But Gabriel wouldn’t, couldn’t let go of his pride to show his anger and the hurt he’d nursed all those years, and couldn’t be the weaker one to give in and throw the first punch.

Really, it threw Gabriel off more than he could admit fully, even to himself. He didn’t know what to do with Jack acting like that, being so different in ways he hadn’t counted on.

With an annoyed sigh Gabriel burrowed deeper into the blanket, both annoyed and comforted by the scent of them. He pushed aside those conflicting thoughts, not finding any use in trying to figure this out just now, and slowly drifted into a mercifully dreamless sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Should I post a map somewhere? I sketched one for myself once I was halfway through the fic and I could clean it up.


	3. Howling over the Mountains

When Gabriel woke the cool air and the dim grey light in the tent made him guess that it was around dawn. He was alone, and the remaining blankets at his side were cold and undisturbed from the pile he’d left them in before falling asleep. Outside it was quiet, apart from the regular sounds of nature one should expect on a mountainous path, with nothing out of the ordinary disturbing that peace, so he took his time stretching and getting up. 

Leaving the tent confirmed that the sun hadn’t risen yet, and a thick layer of fog hung low over the land. Jack was exactly where Gabriel left him the night before, head thrown back and eyes closed as he slept with a slack mouth and furrowed brow. The flask he’d been nursing after their meal was lying by his side, now seemingly empty, and Gabriel didn’t need to wonder about whether or not it was booze anymore. 

How one was supposed to keep watch like that escaped Gabriel, so he watched Jack for a few moments before kicking a pebble at him. 

At the brief bang against his thigh Jack startled awake, head snapping around to look for what had disturbed him and hand flying to his staff. At least his reflexes were fine as Jack only took a few heartbeats to spot Gabriel and come to the conclusion that nothing was actually wrong. Not the most efficient way of keeping watch but at the very least better than falling over or being unable to react at all due to a hangover. 

Jack glared as if he’d been wronged when Gabriel sneered at him. 

“Is this how you watch out for danger? I’m surprised you’re still alive then.” 

Gabriel knelt down by the ashes of the previous night’s fire, rekindling it with magic, as it was too early in the morning to bother with stacking up wood and fumble more than necessary. Not in the mood for preparing breakfast he instead settled down to prepare a drink of hot water and ground cocoa seeds with spices to wake him up and fill his stomach a little. Jack had always hated the taste, complaining about Gabriel being able to drink something as bitter but more disgusting than coffee so early in the morning. 

He didn’t offer preparing anything for Jack, ignoring him and his ways completely to keep some illusion of peace in his morning. He didn’t need to think about how to deal with Jack, or what to make of his attitude. Gabriel didn’t look up as he finished preparing his drink and sat back to sip it slowly. There was some shuffling and a groan as Jack probably worked out the stiffness in his limbs from sleeping in an awkward position. More shuffling followed and then rustling leaves as Jack moved away a little.

“There’s a stream if you want to wash or fill up water-skins.”

Finally Gabriel glanced up to where Jack was standing a little away, gesturing towards where Gabriel could feel the presence of rushing water if he stretched his senses a little. It would probably do him good to clean up any scrapes he’d suffered recently, even if a hot bath would have felt much better than icy mountain water. 

Jack disappeared behind some trees and bushes as Gabriel finished his drink and rose to follow. The stream had a rocky shore, just like anything in this area, but at least it wasn’t muddy and Gabriel could sit down to partially undress without worrying about getting his clothes soiled. He didn’t think to look for Jack until he gathered some of the icy water to wash his face, and when he did he spotted the other man a little further away, already dressed down to just his trousers and with his back turned to Gabriel. 

More scars than he remembered decorated the pale skin of Jack’s broad back, just as Gabriel had earned a few new ones in their time apart. For a moment Gabriel wondered if Jack had gained more bulk since last time he saw him, before deciding that no, it was the other way round. Jack had lost weight it seemed, making the harsh lines of his muscles stand out more than before, resulting in him looking leaner and yet stronger too. He wasn’t old by any means yet, but Gabriel supposed that his appearance went hand in hand with obvious bad lifestyle choices, such as drinking rather than keeping watch, sleeping out in the open when there was a perfectly good tent, and who knew what else. 

After several moments of just watching Jack clean up Gabriel realized that he was staring, and turned his attention back to the water. It was strange to see Jack so in a position of vulnerability like asleep or mostly undressed after all this time. In Gabriel’s mind the time of doing so had been long past, and yet he himself had shown that same reluctant trust by sleeping and laying aside his weapons in Jack’s presence. Not that he was ever _completely_ unarmed as a mage. 

But it also made him think of how he’d never really considered that years might pass until he saw Jack again. That he’d age or change in any way. Any time Gabriel had imaged them clashing he’d imagined Jack as he had been on that last day they saw each other, messy blond hair, icy eyes and a sneer on his handsome face as he looked down on him. 

Foolish to think that Jack would always be just as Gabriel saw him in his memory. 

In the blurred reflection of the streaming water Gabriel could see enough changes in himself since that day. He’d gained a few more cuts on his face, thin lines to match the ones he’d already had, and lines had deepened at the corners of his eyes. He’d kept his hair shorn in the past years, but Gabriel was sure that he’d have found white in his curls by now as well. 

By the time Gabriel washed himself up he was sure that his injuries from the past days wouldn’t bother him much in the coming week, and the icy water had helped waking him up fully.

Jack had left to pack his tent back into his bag as Gabriel dried off quickly and put on his clothes to ward off the chilly wind. He was done when Gabriel returned to the campsite, standing a little awkwardly by the cooled down ashes of their fire, clutching his staff with an uncertain look on his face.

“I’ll be walking on foot,” he said as soon as he noticed Gabriel’s raised eyebrows. “Harder to miss important landmarks and signs if I’m not focusing on flight or any of that.”

He gestured vaguely into the direction they’d been heading towards the day before, and Gabriel closed his eyes with a frown. Of course, they had the same destination, and unless either of them was utterly wrong about how to reach the Source they would most likely end up on the same path. There were only so many ways one could reach that area on foot after all.

“So I’m stuck with you?” Gabriel grit out, wanting nothing more than to leave Jack behind and also knowing that it wasn’t reasonable at the slightest.

Neither he nor Jack would simply agree to take a different path, or even go so far as to give the other a headstart. No, regardless of their issues, the quest took priority. Besides, the chances of reaching the Source unharmed looked much better with the two of them.

“Fine,” he agreed after Jack didn’t add anything else. “Leave me be and we can work around this.”

Jack’s shoulders moved, half a shrug half a slump.

With that settled and nothing else keeping them in this spot they shouldered their bags and set out once more, quiet and determined to ignore the other.

Gabriel was seething quietly for the rest of the morning, pointedly walking a few paces apart from Jack and unable to decide whether he wanted to walk ahead to pretend he was alone, or a little behind so he could keep an eye on Jack but be reminded of his presence. It was impossible to tune him out without also tuning out his surroundings and potentially missing a threat though, leaving Gabriel in an increasingly bad mood.

He started to hope for Jack to just _do_ something, make a snide comment, snap, anything, so he could let out some steam as well.

The only time Jack said a word or acknowledged Gabriel’s presence was two hours into their walk, as he handed him a few pieces of rusk with nuts and dried fruit baked into it. Gabriel had been so focused on ignoring Jack that he was startled into muttering a thank you and accepting them without protest. Reluctantly Gabriel had to admit that they were delicious too, and at least he could occupy his time thinking about whether Jack had made them himself or bought them as he nibbled at the hard rusk, whenever his thoughts inevitably circled back to the man at his side.

A little past noon Jack started focusing his attention away from their path, saying something about lunch, so Gabriel helped him with a quick spell to sense presences around them. Between the two of them they managed to track down and catch a pheasant, making quick work of preparing a meal with Jack taking care of readying it for cooking and Gabriel seeing to the fire and replenishing their water supply and making sure the meat wouldn’t burn.

Sitting side by side on some rocks and eating with grease running over their fingers felt so much like old times that Gabriel felt his chest clench uncomfortably with nostalgia and the knot of anger that never really went away. He wouldn’t be able to speak even if he wanted to, and he was a little glad that he and Jack were so used to it that they didn’t need to talk to delegate tasks.

Half the bird was wrapped securely in waxy paper and tucked into Jack’s bag before they set out once again. The silence between them was nearly comfortable after that.

With food already taken care of they didn’t stop until it was well into the night and Jack decided that the moonlight wasn’t enough to light the way anymore. They heated up the leftovers from lunch, Jack drank a few gulps from the flask Gabriel hadn’t actually seen him refill, and set up the tent.

That night Jack didn’t offer setting up some sort of watch rotation, instead following Gabriel into the tent when it was time to sleep. He pointedly didn’t look Gabriel’s way as he discarded his coat and boots before wrapping himself into a few blankets and lying down as far away from Gabriel as the limited space allowed, back turned.

By some stroke of luck Gabriel was too exhausted to dwell on the presence at his back that night, falling asleep only minutes after his head hit the soft tent floor. It was easier to deal with the issue of having a former lover he missed for who he’d thought he was so close to him.

*

The next day went just like the one before, as did the one after that.

They got up, washed up in ice cold mountain streams, shared a few provisions for breakfast as they walked, hunted if they could spot anything, occasionally stopped to consult their magic about the right direction, set up a tent, and fell asleep immediately.

Gabriel had grown used to ignoring Jack being the one who walked at his side, made easier by only exchanging as many words as strictly necessary and Jack’s voice sounding a little rougher than he what he remembered. Honestly, it was nearly comfortable the way it was between them.

Maybe they could part with the current truce still intact when the Wind was taken care of. Gabriel was not one to forget and forgive, unwilling to trust anyone who’d proven unworthy of it. But he supposed he could learn to let the knot in his chest scar over, a reminder but no longer stabbing him with anger and pain when he thought about Jack. It might be easier to move on with his life without imagining any further clashes with the younger mage.

Perhaps the initial fight had been enough hurt anyway. It had changed Gabriel’s perception of people and Jack especially, but it was over and done. It had no real consequences other than having cut Jack from his life, so perhaps it was time to let it go. 

It had taken years, but Gabriel felt like he was ready to bury the anger and simply see Jack as just another mage one could work with but shouldn’t trust beyond watching your back out in the wild. Perhaps that was healthier anyway.

The peace that settled over Gabriel at that realization nearly dulled his senses enough to make his perception miss obvious shifts in the energy around them.

The fifth day of travel hadn’t done much to change the scenery around them, though the rocks grew taller and would soon grow into mountains if they moved on in the same direction. They were just starting to slow down, looking out for a thing to catch for lunch, when Gabriel felt it.

A feeling like air before a storm settled in Gabriel’s stomach, and he felt the lazily searching tendrils of magic around him shudder and snap.

He froze, eyes darting over the distance, and at his side Jack had paused as well, cocking his head and listening in concentration.

“I heard something,” he said, just as Gabriel was about to mention the strange shift in the air.

Before either could do more than glance at the other a noise rose somewhere higher up the rocks and mountainous terrain. It wasn’t wolves, as Gabriel once might have assumed, too high pitched and shrill, too much like a distorted human voice to be the eerie song of an animal.

Demons.

Gabriel flexed his hands, ready to fight, and at his side Jack raised his staff to point in the direction the noise had come from. Neither moved or made a sound as they listened to the howls, hearts beating too fast and the potential for violence buzzing in the air as both readied their spells. The sound was blood curling and cruel, echoing through the small valley they were in and making the bird songs around them fade away.

It was impossible to tell how many demons there were, or just how far away they hid, but after a while Jack lowered his staff and shook his head. Gabriel didn’t dare relax, and instead cautiously tried to sense if he could feel any specific energy coming from the demons. He needed to know what he was up against. He needed to utterly destroy them when they inevitably picked up his scent-

“Lets go.”

Jack’s voice snapped Gabriel out of his thoughts, and he turned to glare at the other man. Jack’s face was intense, his entire body wound up to run and leave this place as fast as possible, but he was watching Gabriel, not moving an inch. For a second Gabriel wanted to snap at him, wanted to walk the opposite direction to take on the demons on his own, before his hands relaxed and he nodded.

They ran for the rest of the day, sprinting where the ground allowed to do so without tripping and breaking their necks, walking as quickly as possible where they had to climb over rocks and skip over brooks. Gabriel didn’t know if it was enough or if there was any point in trying to get away like that, rather than standing their ground and fighting.

Echoes of the howls followed them for longer than they ought to be heard, part of it a trick of the mind, Gabriel was sure of it. No matter how strong you were, how sharp your sword, how powerful your magic, something about actual honest to god demons made a human’s blood freeze in their veins.

By the time the sun was gone and the sparse moonlight lit the path barely enough to keep Gabriel from falling over every pebble, he was sure he’d die from shortness of breath. He was not made for running all day, and he hadn’t let himself slow down or show weakness in front of Jack either.

Finally Jack slowed and stopped, looking back with a wary expression.

“You think we went far enough?” Gabriel asked, following his gaze to the mountain slopes they’d heard the howling on earlier that day.

Jack shrugged and set down his pack to summon his tent.

“Might as well stop and wait it out if they’re following us.”

Gabriel set out to prepare their dinner, breathing deliberately slow to let his body relax from the day’s exertion. He could see Jack circle the tent several times, muttering and running his hand over the fabric. Checking whether his protection spells were holding up most likely. Barely a mage would leave to roam out in the wild without enchanting their gear to protect them in their sleep after all. Barely anyone who could afford hiring a mage did so either.

When the food was done Jack finally sat down and took out his flask again, drinking more than Gabriel had seen him do since that first night they camped together. The silence between was charged as they ate, worry and tension never truly leaving after having heard demons so close by.

Occasionally Gabriel would glance up at Jack with a twinge of guilt. Ever since a little trip on a complicated path through pocket dimensions and the edges of a demonic plane he’d had those beasts track his scent the second they caught a trace of it. Something about that path stuck to him, easy to perceive with creatures from similar realms. It would fade eventually, but apparently long dead necromancers loved to put such subtle traps on their old things and pocket dimensions, just in case somebody came looking and fancied having to deal with repercussions. In Gabriel’s company Jack was more likely to have to deal with demons than without.

Jack set his bowl aside after a while, and ran his hand over the scars on his face with a sigh.

“There shouldn’t be any sort of creatures from other dimensions so close to the Source,” he said after a while. “This just proves that things have gotten out of hand, right?”

Gabriel shrugged.

“Anywhere demonic energy might seep into our dimension there’s been more of those things too. It’s probably something related to the Wind’s lack of activity, but who knows really.”

“It definitely is that, I just didn’t know it would happen so close as well…”

Jack stared at the fire for a while before continuing.

“It’s not just demons though. Have you noticed that everything is starting to be off? Protection spells are doing less and less good in places where they held for eons, magic creatures are growing rabid if they cross through parts of the woods that usually are fine. Like the Cù Sìth that nearly got you. They don’t usually hunt like that.”

Gabriel considered it, frowning slightly.

“We better fix the Wind then, is what you’re trying to say here.”

Jack let out a laugh and nodded.

“Yeah, that’ll do it.”

Jack ran his hand over his scars again, rubbing absentmindedly at the skin around them. For the first time Gabe felt an uncomfortable curiosity about where those had come from. Scars weren’t unusual in their line of work, but those on Jack’s face looked to be quite deep…

They didn’t sit around the fire for much longer, both not relaxing at all, both glancing towards the higher mountain slopes nervously ever so often, both ready to jump up and fight at a moments notice.

Going to bed wasn’t much different, curled up as they were and protected by spells, but also not able to see the area well. They still lay down back to back, with as much space as possible between them. But for the first time Gabriel didn’t feel like this was a natural reaction to having to sleep besides someone who had once betrayed him. For the first time in years the feeling of Jack at his back brought him a sense of calm, and the knowledge that somebody was watching his six.


	4. The Kinds of Magic

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> flashback time!

It was his grandmother who taught him how to create those beautiful orbs of black light that he loved so much, twisting and stretching, warm were they hovered over their combined palms.

Eliana Reyes’ eyes shone with iridescent gold and black as she pulled her youngest grandchild into her lap, stroking his long curls and telling him stories he liked hearing the most, too young to understand that not all of them were fairy tales, but that some actually were history from a far away land. One even Eliana hadn’t seen but knew all about from the merchants that had once travelled to Marraclei and decided to stay, with her parents and future in-laws amongst those. They had been the ones to teach her magic and history and old wisdoms, leaving her to teach this to her own grandchild in turn.

Gabriel had been three when his mother had noticed how her son had a certain gift for the arcane, and how he would perk up when a spell was cast without actual visible signs of it, how he could tell if small tricks were performed or when Fae were nearby. Lola had been glad of it, glad to teach him what she knew as she barely needed magic to get by in her life. She was good, but not the best teacher, so she had turned to her own mother instead, knowing the retired mage to be excellent for these sorts of things.

And so Eliana had taken to walking from her little cottage by the sea to the small town of Marid’s Roost her family resided in, fetching her grandson from her daughter Lola to leave her to her small seamstress business, and taking him on walks in the forests and beaches of the area.

She taught him how to hone his senses, how to build on what Lola taught Gabriel about feeling energies in nature and finding his way back home blindly.

She taught him of their family, of how there always was at least one powerful mage in each generation, though like Lola quite a few decided that they would make a living without it. Not everyone was an adventurer or interested in the sometimes tedious studies that went along with joining Circles of mages or Academies after all.

When Gabriel was five she started to teach him things no other mage of Marid’s Roost would ever think to even tell a child about.

“Arcane energy comes in many forms and from many sources,” Eliana explained to Gabriel as she conjured the pretty black light for the first time. “From within you, from knowledge of words that unleash it, from runes and plants, gifted from magic creatures or leaking into our world from other dimensions for us to shape and bend to our wishes. The types of magic are usually simply named after what aspect of nature they are drawn from.”

She chuckled at Gabriel’s shining eyes, never once leaving the orb over her palm.

“Can you name a few, Bibi?”

“There’s ocean magic and magic you get from the wild fae dimension and Evonation…”

“Evocation,” Eliana corrected him as she gently took Gabriel’s hand to let the orb glide over to hover inches above his pudgy fingers. For a few moments it flickered uncertainly before it steadied and Gabriel was holding it all by himself.

“Now, there’s types of magic that you should never use. Do you know those, Bibi? I’m sure you have learned them by now.”

Gabriel’s eyes went wide, looking a little scared.

“Death magic?”

She nodded, petting her grandson’s pretty curls.

“Nearly correct. What you mean is necromancy. Death magic is part of nature of course, as any magic is. It is an energy that is just as normal to or world as the magic that seeps off trees and floats in rivers, or leeks to us from the Mother’s domain. But there are certain way to use it that humans simply mustn’t do, because these ways cannot be right or good in nature’s eyes.”

Gabriel nodded, though he wasn’t quite sure of what she meant. In time Eliana would know how to explain balance to him, and the thin lines of natural order that were the laws of magic, the thin but very firm divide between the magic that was so normal to her and the magic that was rotten and defied the rules of what a mortal should do.

“You will hear over and over that only special clerics are allowed to use it in prayer, but there is no magic that cannot be used completely. True necromancy is a terrible thing and goes against the goddess’ will, but no type of arcane energy is ever truly evil unless you use it wrong. So while some might still call it necromancy, you may use arcane energies that belong in the area of death magic, as long as you do not defy the goddess and nature itself.”

With a frown Gabriel stared at the orb, trying to take in what his grandmother explained.

“There is so much magic that is no longer used, or forbidden in most lands, just because it’s so close to truly abhorrent kinds. It doesn’t matter whether some council of elders or some silly king decided something ought to be wrong, it’s only matters that you do the right thing and don’t do evil things with your magic, no matter what kind,” Eliana explained, and squished Gabriel’s cheeks between her soft hands before kissing the giggling boy’s forehead. “And I know I don’t have to worry about you always doing the right thing.”

*

Gabriel was good at what he did, was good at making shadows twist and dance, was good at beautiful flashy displays of his power and deadly silent and subtle magic as well. He learned from Eliana mostly, but when his chores permitted it he would run to the harbor and help some of the ship’s mages with work in exchange for lessons. Many children in port cities did so, and it was easy for Gabriel to suck up any speck of knowledge that was to be had. It was no wonder to anyone when he decided to set out and join some Academy or find any kind of teacher when he turned 16, the thirst for knowledge and love of adventures being well known among half of Marid’s Roost.

It was easy to wander from town to town, first along the coast and then inland following rivers, until Gabriel found an old half-Fae who changed his name every day and lived in a village near the mountains that sat between Marraclei and the Shurdlands. He taught other aimless mages, and was more than happy to let one more kid join his lessons. Gabriel’s talent was recognized and praised by many older and more experienced mages there, easily gaining him help in accessing to libraries and teachers besides his first proper master outside of his home town. Those who worked with the half-Fae were from all over the place, full of advice and suggestions about which cities Gabriel should go to next, which libraries and academies would permit a young man to study at. Though they mostly had gathered to learn from somebody who had studied magic in the Shurdlands, they also didn’t mind teaching each other things they already knew. It was where Gabriel first started to learn of magic that exceeded all that was usually found in Marid’s Roost, where most mages focused on blessings and energies that worked in harmony with the wind and sea. 

Once Gabriel wasn’t sure whether the half-Fae’s teaching could benefit him any further he set out once more, always eager to explore the world and learn more. With Gabriel’s physical strength and bold nature he could find work just fine wherever he went, be it in villages that didn’t have their own mage, or with farmers who always needed a helping hand. This also helped him in paying coin for any mage who didn’t feel like taking in a student just for the hell of it. He even found a master who was willing to teach a mage how to handle weapons that didn’t require magic at all for a while, staying with them long enough to be sure that only practice could help him improve.

By the time Gabriel was twenty he was already an experienced adventurer, wandering all over the place and out of Marraclei, finding work no matter where he went, joining soldiers and rangers or even just travellers who wanted to pay someone for protection. He was good at it, good enough for various lords and ladies to hear good things from him and being asked to help solve problems a master of magic was needed for. Though he hadn’t been in a proper Academy his skills were undoubtedly high enough to be seen as such, something that immediately made Gabriel write back the longest letter home he’d penned by that point, full of pride.

It felt good, it felt amazing. Any mistake he made was never repeated, any job he took left Gabriel with a better understanding of his own skills and how to hone them. There were things he couldn’t get the hang of, and arcane energies that didn’t come easy, but Gabriel stubbornly refused to let them go, vowing to one day figure out how to solve any problem and defeat any creature.

Those were the years when he met Jack Morrison.

Just a few years younger, with the same bright eyes and eagerness to improve Gabriel felt drawn to him immediately.

Gabriel had wandered the Shurdlands at the time, eventually realizing that he had crossed the entire continent all the way to the shores of the Silent Ocean and the small town of Belak Castle. It was high up a cliff and rather picturesque, with most of the area actually being within the castle walls, but notable for its quarries and the ruling family of er’Olore. It was an ancient family name in these parts, though the family itself as small and only one lord resided in the castle currently.   
But said lord was of interest to Gabriel and several other mages who found their way to the castle. While not a mage himself, lord er’Olore was a skilled scientists and caster, meaning that he could use magic that was bound to objects or words rather than his own mastery of the arcane. The lord more than made up for this with an enormous collection of books and a theoretical knowledge of the arcane, as well as his research into combining different types of magic as well as tools that weren’t originally meant for magic. He was a good teacher too, warranting Gabriel to join for a year to serve at the castle and study.   
There were always about a dozen students there, eager to learn from somebody who studied enough different fields that one usually would have to seek out at least three different masters. The prospect of learning from lord er’Olore was good enough that they all braved the cold climate, the harsh ocean winds, and the remote position of Belak Castle.  
Jack had been the only one who didn’t care about the snow and the cold. When Gabriel first met him it was the first day of winter, and he was laughing about the snowflakes in his hair and telling stories about how he’d grown up in a place much colder than this. And on a farm at that, not a comfortable castle.

They had just clicked instantly. They just got along from the first moment Gabriel introduced himself and chatted to Jack as he helped him pick where to stay, having free reign of the castle’s guest rooms. He hadn’t meant to lead the handsome mage close to where he was staying, but only a few minutes in Jack had asked where Gabriel’s room was and immediately settled on the guest room closest to that.

It was just natural to stick to one another from there on. They trained together, ate together, studied in the library and more than once they ended up staying in each other’s rooms way too long just because neither of them wanted to stop talking despite their exhaustion.

They complimented each other in ways that became apparent to everyone who bothered to watch. Where Gabriel was quick and smooth Jack was direct and forceful as a bull, where Jack’s magic was focus and precise bursts of bundled energy Gabriel’s was like an aura of force nothing could slip past.

They figured out that though they shared similar experiences their knowledge didn’t overlap completely either. Both of them had grandparents who thought it best to teach them ancient types of magic that had been passed down their family lines, different because they had come from as opposite a place in the world as possible before settling down elsewhere.

By the time they were done serving and studying at Belak Castle, they didn’t even need to discuss what was to come next, they just packed their things and went out into the world together.

Who kissed who first, who realized there was love between them and not just friendship, how they decided to fall into bed together was all a blur even as it was happening. It was just _natural_ to feel his heart ache with affection when Gabriel looked at Jack, natural to smile and hold him closer when he was being kissed. Their shift from companionship to friendship and then love was as gradual as the change of seasons, unnoticed for one moment, and then Gabriel looked up to find that the buds of their affection had blossomed into passion.

If Gabriel had been a force to be reckoned with on his own, then anyone who dared cross the Reyes Morrison pair might as well save everyone the trouble and make a trip to the Mother’s afterlife right away. They were in tune, they more than made up for any flaw either of them had, they were fiercely loyal to each other, never parted for longer than a few weeks if they could help it, so used to reading one another than others might assume mind reading was involved.

With Jack at his side Gabriel _knew_ that nothing in the world could stop him.

With Jack at his side, there was nothing in the world that he feared.

*

A bad habit Gabriel could never bother to shake was his constant need to do things just out of curiosity about whether he _could_. No matter how much stronger he grew, or how much more he learned, he always felt like he could do better than that. There were things that were considered near impossible even for the most powerful mages, or riddles one couldn’t break with wit or force alone, so occasionally Gabriel would find himself wishing to take on challenges just to prove that he could overcome anything.

Jack participated when asked of course, seeking thrills and liking ill-advised adventures. He couldn’t leave his best friend and love hanging after all. But where Gabriel wanted to do things to test his powers, Jack often went along with stupid plans because he wanted the excitement, or because he thought whatever end result could be achieved would do some good.

Sometimes though, just sometimes, Gabriel found things that he wanted to do on his own.

He had taken up looking for magical artefacts and ancient relics since the fifth abandoned ruin they’d explored, and this included finding dusty old scrolls to read up on forgotten ones as well.

An artefact that had caught Gabriel’s eye was something called the Horn of Ornax, the name giver in question being a necromancer who had lived many centuries ago, ruling vast stretches of northern Aleon and the Zarrbar region, all the way up to the storm coasts of Zarrbar’s broken islands and the polar region. He’d been doing the usual tyrant business as far as Gabriel could tell based on his research, expanding his rule far beyond the town his family had ruled over before it was destroyed in an uprising, raising dead and summoning creatures that had no business leaving the Hells. Ornax been slain and his possessions destroyed in a rather anticlimactic manner, but he _had_ left some of his creations unaccounted for.

The Horn of Ornax was a tool most suited for necromancy, but would work just as well with the sort of magic Gabriel still preferred using himself, as necromancy really was just a rotten branch of death magic. When blown it harnessed the combined powers of the realms of death and several sections of hell and the wild fae dimension, summoning spirits and lending the wielder immense power for a while. One could use it to enhance spells to bring back the dead or call demons, but Gabriel didn’t much care for doing something like that anyway. He hated dealing with demons, and even if he actually had some dead to raise, he was sure he wouldn’t want to go against the Mother’s rules.

The Horn was the only truly powerful thing that hadn’t been destroyed along with everything else Ornax might have left behind, simply because it was impossible to reach.

As any power hungry tyrant dabbling in magic that wasn’t accepted in society or even among the gods, Ornax had owned a healthy dose of paranoia. Besides the misuse of death magic, he’d also been good at creating pocket dimensions and paths through realms that were hard to follow.

Just from the few surviving accounts on such things Gabriel could tell that one had to be incredibly skilled at death magic and travel between dimensions. One had to be ready to cross through areas no human should enter without really needing to. The labyrinth created like that was a death trap, which was convenient as half of it was technically already crossing through the realm of the dead anyway. If one died one wouldn’t have to travel far for eternal rest.

This was of course the reason why the Horn of Ornax hadn’t been destroyed. Either nobody in the party that had defeated the necromancer had wanted to do such forbidden magic just for the sake of cleaning up, or, more likely, they had simply not known how to do it. Death magic wasn’t exactly common in the north of their continent anyway.

But Gabriel neither worried about whether the magic was legal, nor was he a beginner. Already his magic was close to the type of arcane energy that powered necromancy and the dark arts, and he’d practiced it since he was a mere child. He wasn’t using it to raise the dead or do any harm, so what did it matter really.

He spent endless hours studying anything that seemed related to the types of magic used, practiced carefully and tried to reverse engineer the path to the Horn of Ornax. It became apparent that this would be a dangerous, potentially deadly thing to attempt.

Gabriel and Jack had settled in a small house at the edge of Floretcreek, the capital of the tiny duchy Jack had grown up in, by the time Gabriel started making any real progress. It was nice to stay put for a while as he was doing this, both to rest and just enjoy their time together, and to focus on his studies completely.

Jack thrived here, that much was obvious. Though he’d grown up on some tiny farm a few days’ worth of walking away from Floretcreek, he was still a hero from the region, and he was treated as such by the locals. They were excited to hear about what he had seen and about the heroic feats Jack had done while he was out in the world, quite a few of which had been heard about there. Jack was bashful about it when he returned to the privacy of their temporary home, but Gabriel loved the proud glow on Jack’s face, the way he stood just a little bit straighter.

All of this also meant that they would be asked for help when it came to adventures in the area, chasing off beasts that ran wild and bothered the nearby villages, finding some old relics in abandoned mines sealed by magic, or just doing anything a mage might be needed for. None of it was too difficult for either of them, and more often than not Gabriel chose to stay back and work on cracking Ornax’ secret path to actual treasures. He could get lost in it completely, would lock himself away and not leave their little house for days at a time, making the locals wonder about what their hero’s companion was up to on his own. At the very least Gabriel was always sure to greet Jack on his return with food and a warm bath and help with whatever injuries Jack’s adventures earned him.

Then, _finally_ , Gabriel was certain that he could figure out what he needed to do.

It was dangerous, there still was a chance of death, and by now Gabriel had figured out that he would have to be ready for deviations in Ornax’ set path, given that centuries had passed since it was created, but he could do it, he was as prepared as he’d ever be.

Days might pass to complete the convoluted journey through every possible realm Ornax might have laid the path out in, and only Gabriel’s soul would be able to make the trip. In an attempt to keep Jack from worrying too much Gabriel waited impatiently for the right moment, until Jack told him he would leave for about a week, or more. Jack knew of Gabriel’s studies, and his current interests, but he also didn’t know that Gabriel was actually planning on doing more with that information.

Gabriel helped him pack for the trip, hovered near him, and demanded goodbye kisses every other minute. Any kiss might be the last time he tasted Jack’s lips in his life, or even beyond if things went seriously wrong, so Gabriel clung to Jack’s clothes and kept their touches sweet and lingering, savouring every second. Finally Jack pried his hands away with a laugh, promising to be back soon, and left.

Finally on his own Gabriel only had the patience to wait for half a day before finally setting out to prepare for the rituals needed to ensure a safe passage through to the Horn of Ornax.

He laid out runes and incense in his and Jack’s shared bedroom, cut his hand to burn his blood and whisper incantations that would shield his defenceless soul when he’d cross the Abyss and the edges of the Hells, or any other realm infested by demons. He laid out pretty gems he’d collected over the years, not caring that the precious stones would probably crumble to dust as he drew on their magic; he could always find more.

All of these things were arranged in circles around the big bed in the middle of the room, granting power and protection, and finally Gabriel sat down on the soft cushions to prepare for the final moments before it was all or nothing.

The first thing Gabriel did was to arrange several knives and a slim staff so that they would be within reach. Next came the bag he carried if he didn’t know where he was headed, filled with dried provisions and supplies for a journey. He didn’t know if by some magic he was pushed into some strange realm with his body as well as his soul after all, and it would be easier to find a way back if he didn’t need to worry about shelter and food. If he was lucky his body would remain where it was though, and his soul would return to it intact, but one could never be too cautious.

And finally came the things that weren’t strictly necessary for his safety and passage. He made sure that Jack had left behind healing potions, and that there was food in the house so he wouldn’t have to bother with leaving to search for it if he returned in a weakened state. He also made sure that there were fresh clothes in the bathroom, as well as bandages and anything he’d need to patch up minor injuries.

One of Jack’s old coats was wrapped up into a pillow, a sentimental addition to Gabriel’s spells of protection. There was no magic on it, but Jack’s scent lingered on the worn fabric, giving him some comfort. It was just a superstition, but Gabriel liked to think that the reminder of something he loved in his own realm would help his soul find its way back should something try to keep it in the demons’ realms.

Then came the letter.

_“Forgive me, I wasn’t as clever as I thought I was. Please tell my mother of my fate. I love you, always and forever, my sunshine. – Gabe”_

It had been harder to write this than Gabriel had expected, the ink blotched and the letters shaky, but now that the piece of paper was carefully folded in his hands he felt better for it. He didn’t think Jack would return to find his lover’s cold corpse in their bed, but Gabriel didn’t like the thought of not having at least some sort of farewell for Jack.

Finally, feeling as if he was just being a coward about getting on with his task, Gabriel closed his eyes and moved his lips in a silent prayer.

Jack had been surprised when he found out how often Gabriel would speak a quick request for a blessing and luck, as he had no care for clerics and splendorous temples or real prayer. But Gabriel could not shake the way he was raised, the way his grandmother had taught him to respect the Gods, and how he had visited the tiny temple dedicated to the Gracious Lady back in Marid’s Roost. It had been small, as far as temples went, but the pale stone and large windows had flooded it with light and had made Gabriel believe that the goddess of healing and charity truly resided in those halls. By now he knew that no God truly resided in their dimension, but they still listened, if one was just polite enough.

Now, before risking his life to prove to himself that he could accomplish anything, Gabriel prayed to the goddess that was closest to his family’s heritage. The Mother, goddess of death and the natural flow of fate, had always loomed over his family, always was on the mind of those who used the magic of the realm of death since before that goddess had ascended to her status. Death magic, no matter how good the cause for its use, was always dangerously close to the type of necromancy that the Mother would not stand for, so Gabriel had always felt like he must respect that goddess in particular. Give her no reason to doubt him, no reason to think that he sought to disrupt the order of life and death in ways no mortal was supposed to as he used the arcane energies of fate and death.

When there was nothing left to say after assurances that he would serve the Mother and not trespass through her realm more than he had to, there was nothing left to do but to lay back and speak the words that would let Gabriel’s soul move on its own. The last thing Gabriel saw were the rough stones of the ceiling, and then fire, and then nothing.

*

A path created by a mage was hard to follow if one wasn’t familiar with the feel of that mage’s power.

More than once Gabriel was sure that he would drift off course, that he would be sucked out of the carefully crafted and twisted pocket dimensions that were designed to lead anyone off course.

Claws tugged at his clothes and fire and scalding ash stained his skin but Gabriel grit his teeth and followed the barely there trail of Ornax’ energy, slowly but surely learning how to spot it easier.

Screams and horrid visions distracted him no matter how hard Gabriel tried to focus, and more than once he was sure that he was lost, that somewhere Ornax’ dead spirit was laughing at the foolish young man trying to outsmart him and get to his treasures.

Most of the path wound through the outskirts of the Hells, and Gabriel wasn’t sure if the visions that tormented him there was just what the Hells looked like, or if demons were trying to dig their claws into his unprotected soul to tear him apart with images of his greatest fears.

Wild fire and the forces of cruel fae magic swirled around him, and the sickening rotten feeling of necromancy infested every step of the way. Gabriel had never actually met any necromancer, but the sensation of the magic that had always been a part of him twisted into such a bastardisation of natural order made him gag. He was sure he’d have thrown up and wailed in disgust if he had traversed these paths in his real body, but now it burned against his soul without being able to corrupt his flesh as well. Souls could resist such a thing, even if it hurt more.

Seconds or millennia could have passed and Gabriel wouldn’t have been able to tell. He wondered if Ornax hadn’t just made the path so convoluted to annoy adventurers into giving up. He was patient though; he could wait and strike when he needed.

After an eternity of fire and howling demons crossing over into the realm of the dead felt like slipping into a warm bath and silence after a hard day.

For several moments Gabriel could do nothing but drift, not sure whether he was falling gently or was merely being carried by some unseen stream. He allowed himself to relax for a while, the comfort of the familiar magic around him nearly making him cry in relief. There was nothing there but darkness, the only thing he could see was his own body, but it did not feel scary at all.

It felt pure and soothing, it was the smell of cinnamon and the spiced soup grandma Eliana made on cold winter nights, the feeling of his mother’s blanket against his skin when he was sick but knew he was cherished, the safety of childhood…

It was the last stage before reaching the sealed off dimension Ornax had created, and Gabriel felt smug as he realized the reasoning behind this. A necromancer was most likely to come this far, and most likely to be torn apart for passing into this realm unprotected. A mage who somehow managed to get here without would be struck with fear, as the realm of the dead wasn’t exactly something people liked to enter while still alive. It was nearly laughably easy for one of Gabriel’s background.

The moment Gabriel let himself relax fully his soul shivered and twitched. The soothing mood around him stilled, and for the first time in his existence Gabriel felt the presence of a deity.

His own powers felt laughably small next to those of the Mother, and it took all of Gabriel’s will to remain still and allow himself to float. Strings tightened around his body, a soft golden glow enveloping him as Gabriel felt something tighten around his neck. He didn’t need to reach up to know it was a noose, just tight enough to touch his skin and remind him of how easy it was to snap his life’s thread.

The darkness moved, perfect pitch black on pitch black shifting and twisting, harsh wings beat against Gabriel’s body and feathers traced over the scars on his face.

For the first time he felt a drop of fear as he felt his soul being judged and examined. He was so obviously the soul of a living being, here before his time, and very obviously one that had used death magic freely. He had always lived by the rules, never once even wanting to venture into necromancy, but who was he to say what the Mother deemed acceptable or no.

The darkness never parted, but somehow Gabriel thought that he was seeing the gargantuan shape of a bone white mask layered over it, with two empty eye sockets regarding him impassively.

His instinct demanded that he bowed and begged and pleaded to be let go, but Gabriel did none of that, simply staring up at the hidden face of the Mother, until finally the mask was gone and the painful beating of wings subsided into a whisper soft caress.

Something twisted and Gabriel’s surprised scream was cut off just to reappear as the muffled sound echoed off dusty old walls.

It took him a few seconds to get used to seeing something other than blackness, but when Gabriel managed to stand up on shaky feet he found himself in a simple chamber. Rough stone walls were hidden by rotten shelves and mouldy parchments, broken candles were scattered about, and the entire room looked as if it had never been tidied up before being abandoned to the times.

Gabriel’s laughter was near hysterical as he realized that he’d _made it_. He had done what so many heroes hadn’t even attempted out of fear, and all without even being injured by whatever monsters had lined the way.

His clothes were torn and burned in places, but other than that Gabriel had sustained no damage other than exhaustion. He couldn’t stop grinning as he examined his surroundings, finding no door or window but not expecting any exit out the pocket dimension anyway. There was nothing interesting in the shelves, and nothing but notes in elegant handwriting about experiments that were quite basic for necromancers as far as Gabriel knew.

The only thing of value were some coins from centuries past, but Gabriel didn’t care for them. The only thing that caught his interest was the only not damaged piece of furniture in the entire room. With careful touches Gabriel checked the chest over for magic or traps, but nothing came to light, so finally he took a deep breath and opened it.

There, cushioned on beautiful red velvet lay the Horn of Ornax. It shone like obsidian, curved and perfect and looking like it had once belonged to a massive mountain goat. He was nearly too scared of breaking it to touch it, but finally he lifted it up with a reverent sigh. It was so light, and cool to the touch. He could feel the thrum of energy in it, but it wasn’t overwhelming.

For a tool created by some brutal tyrant it looked beautiful and pure, and Gabriel tucked it against his chest with a laugh. He didn’t even know what to _do_ with it, now that he had it.

No matter though, he had it, and he would keep it, even if it was just to display it as a pretty trinket in his home.

With a grin Gabriel clutched his price and spoke the words that would bring him back home.

*

Gabriel woke with a start and nearly fell of the bed with a shout. Everything spun, everything hurt.

He coughed, fighting the dizziness that had taken hold of him and tried to figure out where he was. The scent of Jack’s coat was the first thing that hit him, calming Gabriel just enough to compose himself and take in the situation.

He was back in his body, on his bed, surrounded by the things he’d set out to protect his soul and guide it home. The Horn of Ornax was lying on his chest, reflecting light innocently back at him.

With a groan Gabriel sat up, setting the Horn aside and wincing at how each and every muscle tensed with pain. It wasn’t serious, he was sure, just the natural toll his spells had taken on it, and he would feel much better after food and actual rest.

The letter he had written to Jack was still between his hands, and there was no sign of Jack being home yet. How much time had passed? He wasn’t sure, but he burned the letter quickly, no longer needing it now that he was alive and well and there was no need to worry Jack at all. Best not let him know that he had prepared for the worst.

Somewhere Gabriel could hear the creak of a door, and familiar steps, so he rose to his feet to run and greet Jack. The second he stood his legs gave out and he had to catch himself against the wall to keep himself from falling face first to the floor.

Right, so greeting Jack should probably wait until after he found something to eat or even better some potions to get some strength back into his body.

Gabriel somehow managed to open the bedroom door, and dragged his way towards the stairs. With each step he felt more discomfort. His stomach clenched and his throat was dry as parchment. He could probably use a bath and sleep, and maybe some healing spell because his bones ached in ways that didn’t seem right.

“Gabe?”

Gabriel was halfway down to the door leading into the basement when Jack spotted him. He looked good, his hair a mess and travel dust coating his clothes, and Gabriel had never seen anyone as beautiful in his life.

“Sunshine,” he croaked out, ignoring how rough his voice sounded and how terrified Jack’s expression was.

He reached out to fall into Jack’s arms as Jack was on his in a few quick strides.

“What happened to you?” Jack hissed, worry lacing every word, as Gabriel pressed his face against his neck. He was so warm and real. When was the last time Gabriel had truly appreciated how nice Jack’s body felt?

“Just some spells, need some of your fancy healing drinks,” Gabriel slurred out, stepping back as he decided that cuddles could come later, after he’d done something to fix his situation.

Jack’s hands were on his face in an instant, turning it as Jack checked him over for injuries.

“This isn’t just some spell, you look like you’ve been held in some dungeon for _months_. What happened to you Gabe, please, tell me.”

Gabriel blinked at him, sure that this was just concern on Jack’s part. No more than a week could have passed for his body after all.

“I was clever,” he said with a wink and patted Jack’s cheek. “Nobody dared figure out how to get it, but nobody is as good as finding hidden relics as me. It’s on the bed if you want to admire it, but if you excuse me, I’ve not eaten in… Damn I don’t actually know.”

Jack’s eyes flickered up to where their bedroom was, but he reluctantly let go of Gabriel.

With a wink Gabriel turned on his heel and dragged himself down to the basement alone. He felt giddy with pride and the sense of victory, glad that Jack had come just in time to be told of just how Gabriel had managed to find the Horn of Ornax.

But first he needed to take care of himself.

Most of the basement was Jack’s realm. It looked just like Gabriel imagined a hedge witch’s home to be like, with dried bundles of herbs hanging from any available hook on the ceiling, bronze sickles and various tools and mirrors lining the wall as well as old kettles and vials upon vials of various little healing potions. A ready supply for any adventure.

There also was a bathroom with a nice little tub down there, as well as a coldroom for storage.

First thing Gabriel did was find a bag of dried meat and stuff a handful of it into his mouth and chase it down with ale straight from an earthenware jug until it ran over his chin and into his clothes. It took some willpower not to eat as much as he could all at once, knowing that he’d just make himself sick.

It was nearly painful to cast a spell that would fill the little wooden bathtub with hot water, but Gabriel just didn’t have the patience or strength to do it manually. His clothes were dropped on the floor without further care, and finally he managed to climb into the tub. A moan escaped Gabriel’s lips as the water soothed his aching body immediately.

He made some half-hearted attempts to scrub at his skin and search his body for hidden injuries, before giving up on that and just lying back to relax in the water. Gabriel felt nothing but bliss in that moment, knowing that his price was up in his room, and hearing Jack move around the house faintly. There was nothing more he could ask for in that moment.

The sudden pang of magic energy startled Gabriel awake.

He flailed for a few moments, nearly slipping into the now lukewarm water as he tried to reorient himself, before he realized that he must have fallen asleep at some point. At least he now only felt a little bit tired, but his body seemed to have recovered from his trip into other realms quite easily.

Gabriel climbed out of the bath and quickly towelled himself dry before putting on his clean clothes, all the while trying to reach out with his senses and try to figure out what had woken him. Everything seemed to be in order, and there were no strange noises or sensations in the entire house.

“Jack?” he called out the moment he emerged from the basement, but there was no reply.

With a frown Gabriel climbed the stairs to their bedroom. Nothing seemed amiss upstairs either, and when Gabriel opened the door to their room he saw that Jack had put away anything that hinted at Gabriel’s spells. He was also still in the room, standing in front of the bed with his back turned to the door.  
“Jack, is everything alright?” Gabriel asked with a smile as he slipped into the room and reached out to touch Jack’s shoulder.

Then his eyes fell on the bed.

It took him a few seconds to understand what he was seeing. His knives and pack were still there, as was Jack’s coat. But there were also strangely curved shards lying on the sheets, pretty and black and dissolving before Gabriel’s eyes as if they were dry leafs slowly burning to ash.

Jack’s breathing was strangely laboured, and his hair looked even messier than earlier that morning. As if he’d run his hands through it nervously, or as if it was standing on end from a blast of magic energy.

“What is that?” Gabriel asked, his eyes moving over the shards, watching them break into smaller pieces and burn. “Where’s the Horn of Ornax. Jack, what’s wrong?”

With a hiss Jack straightened his back, and threw Gabriel a wide-eyed look filled with cold anger.

“Do you _ever_ think about consequences?” he snapped, and his voice sounded foreign in Gabriel’s ears as he stepped forwards, realization dawning as he watched the last few shards disappear. He could still feel the power in them when he reached out without touching, already knew that it was to late as he sank to his knees with a shout and tried to hold them together before they turned into dust.

“What if somebody had seen? What if somebody had sensed what’s going on in here just to walk in on… on tools of Dark Magic? Gabe, are you out of your fucking _mind_?”

Gabriel ignored Jack’s harsh words, unable to look away from where the Horn of Ornax turned to dust and disappeared just as any other artefact created by the necromancer so many centuries ago. Within seconds only a little bit of dust remained of the price Gabriel had risked his life and soul for.

“Why?” he choked out, finally tearing his eyes away and looking up at Jack. “Why would you do this?”

His own voice felt so small, hesitant and vulnerable. The loss of his price nearly made him sick, and Gabriel looked to Jack, hoping for some reassurance, a smile, a gentle touch, some explanation for why this had been necessary.

“Didn’t you listen?” Jack snapped again, his voice a growl in his anger as he gestured at the bed. “This is wrong on so many levels. Necromancy? Dark Magic? _Death Magic_? Did you even think before attempting something like this in our capital? Did you think about what happens when you do that?”

Slowly Gabriel rose to his feet, trying to make sense of Jack’s words and his anger. Something bitter coiled in his heart.

“ _Your_ capital,” he corrected. “Jack, what did you _do_?”

Jack only stared at him with a strange pitying look in his face. Never once had Gabriel known Jack’s fury to be directed at him, and somehow he could barely recognize his love in the man before him. This man didn’t look like his Jackie all of a sudden, didn’t look like the boy he once met and who had always been full of curiosity and eagerness to prove himself. This was Jack Morrison, hero of Floretcreek and just too eager to please the lord and his court, firm in his sense of righteousness.

“The only sensible thing in this situation,” Jack replied, eyes cold. “Destroyed any evidence and proof of your use of the wrong kind of magic.”

“Wrong?” Gabriel hissed. The bitterness in his chest grew, clawed at it from the inside and threatened to choke him.

The very magic that had always surrounded him with a steady reassurance now threatened to boil over and screamed for him to lash out.

Jack’s face was a sneer now, his once so pretty eyes now seeming distant and cruel to Gabriel.

“I know you always use magic that wouldn’t exactly be seen as _right_ here, but I didn’t… I honestly didn’t expect for you to actually go so far as to dip into the area of necromancy, Gabe.”

“Don’t call me that,” Gabriel screamed, the air around him cracking and the force of his sudden fury making the stones around them creak. 

It all came crashing down on him then. He’d not even thought to question himself when he left to relax with Jack alone in the house, with nothing to hide the Horn of Ornax from his eyes. There had been no reason to, never once a moment when Gabriel felt like he couldn’t trust Jack with something. He had risked his life, had risked serious damage to his body, and now he had nothing to show for it, because Jack, the supposed love of his life, had just… broken it.

“Do you know what I risked to get that thing?” he shouted, taking a step towards Jack who easily stepped away from Gabriel in turn, arms raised in what Gabriel knew to be his fighting stance. “And you come here to destroy what I worked for, and accuse me of necromancy? What is wrong with you, when have I ever given you reason not to trust me with these things?”

He knew his voice was close to break in hysteria, and his hands were shaking with anger and the crackle of magic.

“You shouldn’t have tried to get it in the first place. I know that your arcane energy is inherently close to an unambiguously evil schools of magic, but it doesn’t matter. I’d rather destroy any evidence and ignore what happened than let anyone else discover that you-“

Gabriel didn’t let Jack finish.

With a howl he lashed out, fingers splayed out like he had claws to strike Jack with, and dark crackling energy swinging at Jack’s face. He lashed out in anger and his strike wasn’t focused enough to catch Jack off guard, making Gabriel’s burst of energy collide with a solid shield of ice cold force and pushing him back hard enough that he nearly stumbled onto the bed.

For a few seconds Gabriel thought he was choking on smoke, and he could see tendrils of his magic rise at his sides, forming into sharp spears ready to try and tear Jack apart. Hot angry tears threatened to spill over his cheeks as he stared at Jack, whose face was twisted in anger.

Something that felt too close to his heart shattered in Gabriel’s chest as he stared at Jack, breathing heavily. It was as if Jack’s words had torn something from him with that insult.

Of course he’d known that his magic skirted what dumb fearful clerics would call evil, what stuff old mages up in their towers would call raw and wrong and forbidden. But there were so many types of magic that ran wild in nature, so many families that guarded ancestral styles and never once went against the gods or natural order. Death magic perhaps, but also the magic that was comfort of home, and the warmth of his grandmother’s smile.

Gabriel had never questioned what Jack thought of him, never once wavered in his secure knowledge that Jack knew him, that Jack would never even think him capable of necromancy or evil actions without a damn good reason and hope that questionable decisions would do good in the end. He knew what Jack thought of necromancy, but he also knew that Jack was aware of his own magic and never once said a thing about it, leading Gabriel to believe that Jack could see the clear lines between what Gabriel did and that. He had always just assumed that Jack didn’t mind what sort of magic was used, as long as it wasn’t to harm innocents.

And yet here he was, accusing Gabriel of dark arts as if he was some high and mighty knight who didn’t even know what he was talking about.

“If you really think this of me,” Gabriel whispered, voice smooth and dangerous. “Then I will not hesitate to show you just what this magic is capable of the next time I see you.”

He grabbed the things scattered on the bed, suddenly glad that he had packed for a journey already.

“You can’t leave, you have to-“ Jack started and reached out as if to grab him, but Gabriel knocked his hand away sharply.

“ _Don’t_. You have no right to touch me or even speak to me,” Gabriel hissed.

At least Jack closed his mouth at that and didn’t stop him when Gabriel grabbed his things and fled the house.

It was early evening outside, and he didn’t look where he was going at all, didn’t stop until he was out of the cursed city that had turned his Jackie into some foolish law enforcing man, until he was out in the wild and didn’t know where he was anymore as he’d allowed his magic to push him forward faster than he could run without caring for where he went.

When Gabriel broke down he was weeping, his chest aching with the force of his anger and heartbreak. He was alone, he was probably lost in the forest and couldn’t see anything through the dark and through his tears, but he didn’t care.

A flick of his hand had a small fire burning, and it was probably not safe to do so without even knowing where he was, but he didn’t _care_.

He had been betrayed, his work destroyed and the magic that was part of him insulted. Never in his life had Gabriel thought that Jack would be the sort of man who deemed his magic evil just for what it was.

Gabriel had never cared about what people thought, not the whispers or the mistrust should he reveal just what magic came easiest to him. At first it had been ignorance and pride, and later it just hadn’t mattered, because Jack had praised him and he himself had known that he was clever and good at what he did, secure with himself and the knowledge that those who feared his magic on principle just didn’t know any better.

But now it all felt wrong.

It felt as if the Jack he knew had never existed in the first place.

Gabriel pulled his coat around himself tighter to shield himself from the cold, just to throw it off with a snarl as he realized that he had grabbed Jack’s old coat in his haste. Without a second thought the fabric went up in flames, the heat nearly painful for a few seconds before nothing but ashes remained.

Gabriel could feel the night’s cold biting his skin immediately, but he couldn’t care. His body was still weak from the past week’s ordeal, his mind exhausted from the effort he’d put into his journey, and his heart felt like it surely must stop beating any second now.

Ignoring the world around him Gabriel curled up and tried to find a position that would allow him to sleep. Through all of it his tears wouldn’t stop.

_’I’ll let myself grief just for tonight’_ , Gabriel promised himself, knowing that the anger in his chest would overcome him the next day anyway, burning away the sadness he felt. But for now he would let the tears fall freely, until there were none left. He could allow himself this much before he calmed and examined just where he had gone wrong in his blind trust. He could allow himself one day of grief.

It was not often that one lost the love of their life after all.

*

In the following weeks Gabriel learned that he still carried Ornax’ gift in a wayl.

Perhaps as some sort of last ditch effort to spoil an adventurer’s victory in possessing his Horn, the old man had laced the Horn with some sort of demonic energy. Nothing drastic, nothing that bothered one in daily life, but any time Gabriel came too close to a demon’s lair, no stealth and no caution would keep those damn beasts from picking up his trail.

It was as if possessing the Horn for even just a few moments had been the demonic equivalent of tying a nice big slab of meat to his body before going for a swim in the ocean.

Honestly Gabriel nearly welcomed it. Every encounter with a demon meant risking his life again, but nobody cared if he tore a demon to shreds as violently as he could. Every time he did so he could let out his rage about Jack’s betrayal and the insult of his magic.

Jack had gone and destroyed what would have made the demons’ attacks worth it, just because Gabriel’s magic was the wrong kind, the evil kind.

Gabriel couldn’t hunt him down to show him just how evil his magic could be without proving him right, so he made do with the demons.

He could feel himself becoming increasingly bitter, avoiding people more than he ever had and not accepting a single offer for work that involved other mages for months. He wouldn’t trust anyone again at least, and never let another feel the energy of his magic. Having Jack insult his magic and himself like that had been enough; Gabriel didn’t feel like risking somebody else doing the same.

With nowhere he could go Gabriel just made sure to keep as far away from Floretcreek and the entire thrice cursed region of Zarrbar as possible, not wanting to be somewhere that had produced such a self-righteous man as Jack Morrison. Sometimes he wondered if going there and letting Jack go the admiration of his people to his head had been what had pushed him into treating Gabriel like that. More often than not Gabriel was sure that Jack had always been like that, but had stayed his tongue because there had been no cause to insult and betray Gabriel after all.

The rage in Gabriel’s chest cooled down, but instead of leaving it turned into a knot around his heart, a constant reminder of what one got from trusting pretty boys with beautiful smiles and powerful magic. Not that Gabriel was really tempted by anyone or anything again, but he was glad that he wouldn’t trust so easily and avoid further backstabbing.

It was strange to travel alone after all these years, but he got used to it easily.

He returned home to Marid’s Roost once or twice, but never stayed long with his mother’s concerned glances and his grandmother’s sad smile of understanding.

He preferred solitude after deciding that he couldn’t bear the pity.

Months passed, then years, and slowly Gabriel Reyes felt his heart mend, though the scars remained.

The only times he allowed himself to think of Jack led to cold anger, but eventually Gabriel managed to push those thoughts aside as well.

He was just a solitary mage now, still proving to himself that his power was greater than anyone else’s with self-set tasks.

If there was now a drop of spite in his motivation, a desire to prove to a man he’d once trusted that the wrong kind of magic was stronger than anything else, then that was Gabriel’s own private shame.


	5. A Creeping Cold

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some of the tags regarding injury come into play

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I posted a link to the map of this world before, but it seems to not be showing up? Anyway, lets try that again:   
> asparklethatisblue.tumblr.com/post/169040176453

No howls echoed through the valleys and no trace of sulphur spoiled the cold mountain air when Gabriel took a bath at a lake despite frost covering everything. The icy water did nothing to ease away the tension he felt. 

Any loud goat call, any rustling bush where some animal was passing by with no regard for the mages nearby, just made Gabriel startle and stare in its direction. Neither he nor Jack could tell what sort of demons they had passed by so closely, and neither of them knew what sort of tricks those creatures would use on their hunt if they were following them after all.

When Gabriel was done with his quick bath his fingers felt stiff from the cold, but he ignored it as he started a fire and set out to prepare breakfast while Jack went to fill up their water supply and take a quick bath himself. They’d decided that morning that they shouldn’t both let their guard down to be in a vulnerable position at the same time, which meant taking turns with tasks like this. It pushed back the moment they started travelling in the morning, but those minutes would be worth nothing if they were ambushed unexpectedly.

Gabriel refrained from making his usual bitter drink, and just prepared an easy broth he knew Jack wouldn’t mind drinking once he was back. It’d just save them the time to prepare something else, and Gabriel kind of wished he’d had one prepared for after the icy bath himself. Jack seemed surprised to be handed a bowl of it when he returned, but he accepted without more than a muttered thanks, warming his fingers against it as he drank. 

They didn’t run that day, for which Gabriel was quietly grateful. There was no sense in exhausting themselves, and by running they were more likely to run into some other trouble than escape demons if they truly were being hunted. Besides, Gabriel very much didn’t want to run in the cold mountain air. The sun barely managed to warm him up at all as they walked, and running would only help for a little while, before the icy burn in his lungs would make him feel worse than before. At least he could tug at his collar to hide his nose and mouth in it occasionally as he walked. 

The scenery changed a little as they travelled that way. The path they were on led them down into a proper valley, with tall yellowed grass stretching between the steep rocks they’d been walking on all week and even taller mountains in the distance. Despite the mist that hung over the land Gabriel could see far in every direction, which meant that while he and Jack were less protected no demon should be able to sneak up on them either. 

Gabriel rubbed his arms to warm himself up as he looked ahead towards the mountains, with Jack steadily observing the area around and behind them. There was something different about the rock ahead, even at the distance. It looked darker, and older somehow, though it was only a feeling as Gabriel knew next to nothing about rock in general. The arcane energies of mountains had always felt both welcoming and repellent to him, making it harder to gleam any real insight into them, and he was lost at the science behind mountain formation. 

“That’s the actual Source in that direction, isn’t it?” he asked, and Jack regarded the rock for a while before shrugging. 

“It feels different. I guess there’s nothing else that would have that aura around here.”

They were quiet for a while longer, walking silently as Gabriel eyed Jack’s coat enviously. It looked sturdy enough, and he still remembered how much easier Jack had dealt with unpleasant weather in the past.

“It’s too far away for me to tell if there’s anything off about those mountains,” Gabriel said after another few minutes of silence. With the mist it was harder to tell how far the mountains were, but his probing magic could not reach far enough to test whether there was something corrupted about the area. Neither could Jack, it seemed, as he squinted at the rocks for a while before shaking his head. 

“Something has to be off with how the Wind has been acting, but I don’t know either.”

The grass around them varied in height, though overall it was nearly waist high. Occasionally Gabriel would see something scurry away from them, but he figured it was no more than a fox. He tried to focus as it rustled against his legs, sensing nothing but small critters one would expect in such a place.

“Anything about this area?” Jack asked when he noticed Gabriel’s attention wandering. 

“No. Just… fields. There’s nothing special here.”

Frost crunched under Gabriel’s boots with a pleasant noise, and he glanced over his shoulder occasionally. Still no sign of demons. It was probably time to stop worrying about it, but Gabriel wasn’t one to drop his guard until he was safe for sure, having dealt with too many demons trying to follow him specifically to feel at ease if he suspected their presence. 

Again he felt a pang of guilt about his curse making Jack a target as well, but he pushed that fear aside. 

It was well past noon when Jack started to keep an eye out for something he could catch for lunch. Gabriel left him to it, miserably pulling at his coat to try and keep warm as he still tried to pay attention their surroundings. 

“You in the mood for rabbit?” 

Gabriel took a few moments to understand that Jack had asked him a random question in a teasing tone he hadn’t used in far too long, casual as if he was just asking what to get at the market. He looked up to see a small iron dart hover over Jack’s palm, as Jack was looking at something in the grass. With a soft hiss the dart shot out and away from sight, just to return with some rustle and a small brown hare attached. 

Gabriel was about to compliment Jack on the quick catch as Jack let out a startled “what the fuck” and dropped the hare back on the ground. 

“What?” he asked, slightly annoyed as Jack stopped, eyes wide, forcing Gabriel to stop and to turn back to him. 

Jack was still staring at the hare he dropped as if it had burned him. Gabriel wasn’t sure what was off, to him it looked like a regular rabbit, dead perhaps, but that wasn’t cause for alarm as Jack had shot at it to achieve just that. 

“What’s wrong now?” he asked again, and Jack shook his head. 

“It’s frozen to death.”

“Frozen?”

Gabriel stepped closer, unsure of what to make of it. Jack was still not moving, his eyes darting around as if he expected an attack as Gabriel couched down to poke at the brown fur. He immediately snatched his hand back, letting out a quiet surprised ‘oh’. 

The rabbit was ice cold, with frost in its fur. Now that was cause for alarm for sure. It hadn’t been that cold those past days, and surely it wasn’t cold enough even now?

Gabriel stood, his back to Jack’s, looking out over the sea of grass in hopes of finding some sort of explanation for this. It was easy to do something like this with magic, but this seemed so random, why would something use magic to freeze a rabbit of all things, and why hadn’t he noticed any of it as it was happening. 

The realization hit him simultaneously with Jack’s alarmed shout. 

A piercing howl rose just a few feet away from Gabriel, barely giving him enough time to summon a ball of energy to try and protect himself with. The grass parted and a horrible twisted creature leapt out, a vaguely horse shaped head with too many eyes and a maw with rows upon rows of razor sharp teeth snapping at Gabriel’s face before he managed to hit it with a force of magic and push it away. 

Hell’s, of _course_ it was demons that were clever enough to sneak up after them, of course. 

Jack’s staff rose and hit the ground with a thunderous crack, sending a shock wave just past Gabriel to kick back another creature that had risen from the grass. It gave him a few seconds to try and see what exactly they were up against. The demons were about as tall as ponies, with sleek bodies and twisted limbs and spikes covering every part of their body. They were made to maim and destroy. 

“Ice demons,” Gabriel called out in alarm when he noticed the strange wet sheen on the half a dozen demons that were emerging in a circle around them, howling and clicking angrily. 

That explained why he hadn’t _smelled_ them at least. Ice demons didn’t smell of the fiery parts of the Hells at all, so he hadn’t seen the signs of ice, expecting something else entirely.

Jack let out a curse and Gabriel felt his back press against his own, covering his blind side and providing the same courtesy to Gabriel.

Letting energy flare up in his hands Gabriel tried to assess the situation, trying to find something about it that didn’t have them at a disadvantage. 

They were surrounded, and ice demons were notoriously nasty when it came to their attacks. Besides, there were six of them in sight, taller than any Gabriel had ever seen in person and clever enough to sneak up on two experienced mages like it was nothing. 

Lifeless eyes watched them as the demons circled them like a pack of wolves, until finally one let out a howl that nearly made Gabriel wince back, and jumped, claws aimed for his throat. 

A quick blast of magic from his hand knocked it back before it could reach skin to tear at flesh or freeze Gabriel’s blood. Unlike a regular animal that would have been torn to shreds by the force of Gabriel’s attack, the demon merely howled in anger and shook its head to recover. 

Behind him Jack let out another curse, and a crunching smack followed by a jeering screech told Gabriel that his companion’s attack went over the same way. 

And so it started, one by one or in pairs the demons lashed out, knocked back over and over but never did they stop circling, never did they seem hurt more than having ice splinters torn from their bodies without actually seeming that bothered by it. They looked as if they were laughing at the pair, nearly lazy in their movements. 

A crackle of energy from Jack sent out a ring of fire to separate them from the demons, higher and hotter than a natural one would be, allowing Gabriel just a few seconds of respite.

The demons waited patiently until the fire died down, before starting the dance anew. 

“Fire won’t harm them,” Gabriel grit out, trying desperately to remember some way that would get rid of a pack of larger than normal ice demons. Unlike creatures of ice that were at home in the material plane, demons drew their strength from whatever corner of the Hells they’d crawled from. Their ice could withstand Jack and Gabriel’s attacks, and anything stronger was risky to cast with so many of them circling so close, requiring just a few precious seconds too much to draw a better weapon or throw a stronger spell at them. 

“Got a better idea?” Jack snapped back, his voice rough with the energy he was using. 

Gabriel shivered as he felt Jack focus his magic briefly, before releasing it with a shout. A blinding blue beam shot from his staff and hit one of the demons’ flank, knocking it back several yards. A horrible shatter boomed through the air as the demon’s leg broke off its body, crumbling to hellishly cold ice. 

While this proved that the demons could be destroyed, it also made the beasts start howling in rage. 

The attacks became stronger, more frequent, giving Jack no time to focus another beam for even just a second. 

And yet the demons weren’t attacking all at once. 

Gabriel figured out why as he watched his breath puff out in clouds, and his sweat turn into ice before it hit the ground. 

“They’re trying to freeze us to death,” he gasped, feeling Jack tense at his back. 

It was only a matter of time before both of them exhausted themselves, before the cold would make them unable to move and had them go down to the ground. It’d be so much more easy and fun to tear apart mages that couldn’t defend themselves. 

Fleeing was the only option now. 

“Lets wraith out of here,” he hissed, not needing to see Jack’s expression to tell his grunt of agreement was a reluctant one.

Jack pushed back against him, his shoulders bumping into Gabriel’s for a moment, before he let out a roar and dashed forwards, swinging his staff like a club, hitting the demons in front of him with blunt force and energy simultaneously.

Just as he did so, taking the demons aback with the sudden shift in action Gabriel dropped to his knees and curled up as tight as he could to evade any possible claws swung at him. He squeezed his eyes shut and started charging up the spell, pushing energy into it until it was like a balloon filled just enough to nearly be bursting from the pressure.

He felt his skin burn like he’s stepped too close to the fireplace for one second, then two, too much time sitting idly if Jack hadn’t briefly drawn the demons’ attention with his aggressive swings. It worked, and the demons were too distracted by the more active prey just long enough for Gabriel to feel the spell burning up inside him, begging for release.

Long enough for Jack to be several feet away from him, hissing as a tail rammed him and threw him off before he could retaliate. Long enough for Gabriel to just make a run for it on his own.

Frankly it was amazing that Jack had chosen to trust him and risk his life with a reckless attack like that.

Gabriel unleashed his magic with a snarl, the world turned into a blur and by some miracle he managed to direct the force for the magic’s release in such a way that he shot towards Jack, just barely managing to grab him around the middle before pulling up and straight into the air to hover there for a few moments.

It wasn’t a gentle thing like a levitation spell, instead keeping his body suspended as if he was falling without actually moving from the spot, wind pushing at him so hard it took considerable effort and balance to remain in a position that at least had his feet pointing down.

Jack clung to him, which was fine by Gabriel, as he couldn’t coordinate their position twenty feet above the ground properly while also making sure he didn’t drop Jack. The demons howled angrily, jumping and snapping at them but thankfully not able to reach them.

Gabriel regarded them for a few seconds, somehow managing to not lose them out of sight. It would be easy to gain the distance needed to cast a few well placed spells and summon some controlled hellfire to destroy those beasts once and for all for daring to attack them.

“Gabe!”

Jack’s hiss tore Gabriel from his thoughts, and he noticed that Jack was struggling to hold on with how harshly they were being thrown around on the spot.

Right, escape was more important than some drawn out fight.

Gabriel took a deep breath and mentally released the last bit of control he had on keeping his spell at bay.

The last thing he saw were the distant mountains he and Jack had tried to reach earlier, before everything turned into a black and purple blur and his eyes were forced closed by the wind.

Wraithing at high speed had never been a comfortable way of travel, only ever used when he had to get somewhere fast or leave a place as quickly as possible. It allowed for little control over precise aiming and carrying something or someone along was a risk. Wind whipped at Gabriel’s face and he was sure this was how one must feel like when stuck in a hurricane.

Not knowing how far they were actually traveling Gabriel opted to let the spell run its course. Better endure this for some more minutes than gain too little distance to the demons. Eventually the numbness on his face eased off as the wind calmed, the blur of colours became less confusing than before, and finally the last bit of magic Gabriel had put into the spell was gone, spitting the two out in an arc.

There was nothing graceful or controlled about the landing. Jack’s grip slipped and he landed with a loud thud, while Gabriel was swung further and rolled for a few yards before finally lying still. As always it felt like he had been kicked about by some giants for a bit, and yet he somehow managed to sit up with a groan.

He didn’t recognize the area, and a quick glance around confirmed that they must have landed somewhere in the mountains they had seen in the distance before. Glancing back Gabriel did see a valley and plains, but he couldn’t tell the exact spot they’d left off on. If he had to guess he’d put the distance he’d flown at about two or three days worth of travel on foot, so at the very least the demons wouldn’t catch up easily. They’d even be delayed by more than that, if the terrain between them was difficult in places.

“I hate this way of travel,” Jack groaned behind him, and Gabriel turned to see him slowly sit up while clutching his side.

“Are you hurt?” he let out before he could stop himself, and Jack just shook his head.

It wasn’t even dark yet but Jack limped over to a relatively flat spot on the ground to start putting up his tent. Perhaps it was best to rest after the brief encounter with the demons though. Gabriel half wanted to push on and walk more but he felt pretty bruised up after their landing. Just half a day of a break after how they’d travelled just now wouldn’t be too much.

Ever aware of responsibilities Gabriel set out to look for water and maybe something to eat. They had enough supplies, but it could never hurt to know the area.

It took him half an hour to find a frail looking tree with apples that still looked edible on it, as well as a stream that was little more than a trickle of water over some cold rock, but at least he could fill up his water bottle to the brim.

When Gabriel returned to the tent and walked through the entrance’s flap the first thing he saw was Jack’s bruised skin. He paused, taking in the sight of the other mage looking through his various little remedies, stiff and a little awkward in his motions, as he seemed to try and not move his torso at all. Jack had only taken off his coat and shirt, and Gabriel’s eyes were drawn to a particularly nasty looking bruise over Jack’s side and ribs.

“Is that frostbite?” he asked, suddenly worried for not having watched what sort of damage Jack sustained while distracting the ice demons.

Jack threw him a look over his shoulder and shrugged with a slight wince.

“I got hit through a few layers of clothing, so it’s not gonna last for long.”

Gabriel approached cautiously and sat down on his designated pile of blankets to watch Jack find some box with an orange salve and apply it to his damaged skin. He handed Jack some clean bandages without having to be asked, and bit his lip at every quiet hiss of pain as Jack tended to the injury.

“It’s my fault,” Gabriel finally managed to admit; hating that his worries about attracting demons had come true. “Demons kind of are attracted to me, they can trail my scent easier than they should and they just seem to always want to follow it at as well. I’m sorry you got caught up in that.”

He hadn’t expected Jack to let out a bitter laugh in reaction to that. Surprise or anger maybe, but not that.

“Because you got some cursed necromancy relic all over you?”

“Yes, what-“ Gabriel started, but Jack cut him off with a sharp shake of his head.

He closed the box with the salve and startled wrapping the bandages around his torso with practiced moves.

“Don’t worry about taking the blame for that mishap, I’m probably even more attractive to any demon that lays eyes on me than you’d ever hope to be.”

Jack’s voice was dripping venom as he pulled on his shirt, though he wasn’t looking up. Gabriel frowned at those words, trying to understand what had gotten Jack so worked up and what he meant.

He watched as Jack reached into the pockets of his discarded coat and pulled out his flask to open it up quickly, his hands shaking with anger.

“That’s not gonna help with the healing process,” Gabriel started, and this time Jack looked at him as he snarled.

“Does it look like I care?”

He slumped down just as soon as he’d flared up with anger, taking a sip from his flask and staring at the small lamp he’d put up on the tent’s floor. Gabriel didn’t dare say another thing; unsure of what he could possibly tell Jack or what sort of reaction he even wanted. Just a week ago he’d snap and mock, but now he didn’t feel anything but exhaustion at that thought.

The silence between them was uncomfortable, and Gabriel curled his hands into fists to keep himself from fidgeting nervously.

“So what you’re saying is that you got some traces of the Horn on you as well? But how, you never entered the realms, you-“

“I broke it and was there when its energy dispelled into thin air,” Jack interrupted him. “Probably got way more of whatever makes demons go wild than you that way.”

Gabriel felt weirdly sick at that thought. It made sense that Jack had been hit by it as well, and breaking such a powerful artefact tended to have consequences of one kind or another. How had he not thought about that for all the years of cursing his predicament without having anything to show for it? For all these years Jack had suffered more consequences for it as the one who’d destroyed the Horn.

Jack threw Gabriel another glance and laughed mirthlessly at his expression.

“Really? How’d you think I got these scars?”

He gestured at the cuts running over his face, and Gabriel felt his stomach drop at the thought of a demon’s claws having come so close to Jack’s body. How many demons must it have been to put up enough of a fight to leave such lasting marks, how strong did they have to be to nearly overpower Jack that way?

Jack watched him for a few moments longer, waiting for some kind of reply, before turning back to his flask.

“But don’t worry about that. I’ve learned my lessons about crossing necromancers and meddling with things that shouldn’t have been my business. Paid my price. Won’t be doing it again.”

For a few seconds he stared at the flask, before suddenly, soundlessly flinging it away.

It hit the tent’s side and bounced down to the ground with a dull sound, the whole thing making Gabriel flinch away for the few seconds he wasn’t sure if Jack would follow it up with a proper tantrum. Instead Jack huffed, picked up his blankets, wrapped them around his shoulders and dropped down onto the ground without any further comments.

Gabriel stared at his back, struck speechless by the display and the revelation of their shared curse.

He didn’t know how to react to that, or what to feel regarding the cause of their issues. Jack must have been hit much harder by it, as the one to break the Horn of Ornax, and to some extent Gabriel probably should feel like he only had himself to blame. Jack had betrayed him with that action after all, and had broken something without even caring about what it was. But Gabriel had to admit that he probably would have destroyed the thing eventually anyway, once he had his fill with it and if there was a chance of some necromancer getting their hands on it. This could have hit him as well.

His eyes followed the curves and dips of Jack’s body hidden under the blankets, wondering which ones of the news scars he’d noticed had been caused by demons tracking him down. To some extent it was _his_ fault too, for bringing the Horn into their home, for letting Jack be near it for long enough to realize what it was. It _was_ an artefact created by some old tyrant, and it would have been destroyed centuries ago. Jack probably would have tried that regardless of how Gabriel had gotten it, or where they found it.

For all the times Gabriel had wished something horrible to befall Jack for his self-righteous behaviour, being torn apart by demons had never featured. He’d wanted to be the one to hurt Jack, wanted something Jack considered good to turn out horrible after all to prove his prejudices wrong.

Now it felt difficult to want _anything_ to befall him.

Jack seemed like an entirely different person now, as if someone had scrubbed off the layer of holier-than-thou conceited iron that Gabriel had hated, and torn away the soft shine of gold that he had loved so much, leaving nothing but a scarred and broken core of solid rock.

Gabriel’s heart clenched as he glanced at the discarded flask. Part of him wanted nothing more than to crawl over to Jack and hold him in his arms for both of their comfort like he might have done when they were younger. Now it felt wrong. A layer of spite was wedged firmly between now and the days of comforting intimacy between him and Jack, with an addition of the sense that he and Jack were strangers now.

That thought was far more painful than Gabriel could ever admit, so he grabbed his own blankets and followed Jack’s example of lying down and sleeping. For the first time he didn’t turn his back though, instead positioning himself in such a way that he could keep an eye on Jack to watch for any signs of distress or pain.

Gabriel didn’t know if Jack was pretending to be asleep or still had his ability of falling asleep whenever he wanted. It didn’t matter though.

With the night far too young to sleep and his heart far too heavy to let himself rest, Gabriel never took his eyes of Jack, keeping watch and trying to make sense of the new knot inside his chest.


	6. Sharp Claws

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> some mentions of fighting and injuries, though nothing is graphic

For the first time since that day on the cliff side the journey turned truly precarious and forced the two mages to pick their path carefully. Gone where the slightly rocky but comfortable paths in between cliffs and trees, replaced by naked jagged rock and serpentine paths that forced Jack and Gabriel to climb over boulders and up the mountain where walking wasn’t possible.

The Source’s Cradle was what Jack called the area, a name Gabriel hadn’t seen on maps before but one that was used by the people of the northern Shurdlands closest to the mountain region. Tall mountain peaks spiralled around the centre of the Source, forcing wanderers to cross them carefully in order to get where they needed to be. There used to be proper paths one could stroll along without risking a broken neck, but Gabriel couldn’t find them and didn’t know if they hadn’t been destroyed in rockslides. Surely it hadn’t been _that_ annoying to get through in the days people travelled on a pilgrimage to the Wind.

This close to the Wind Gabriel couldn’t ignore the signs of disturbed energies anymore either, the sense of it pushing itself into his mind wherever he tried to test out the area at all. Something was deeply wrong, and without even knowing the area he just knew that it wasn’t what it was supposed to be like at all. He could tell that even Jack noticed this.

Despite the steady breeze and mountain winds something about the air felt strangely stagnant, and occasionally Gabriel felt like there was ash on his tongue that gulps water couldn’t wash away until that feeling was gone all on its own. Strange shadow like discolouring ran over the rock everywhere, like soot and frozen streams of lava down on a volcano’s side.

On the second night spent in the Source’s Cradle the two mages also felt the earthquake. Resting around a small fire a sudden rumble caught Gabriel’s attention, and Jack clutched his staff as they listened to the strange sound. Gabriel wasn’t sure if the rock actually moved under his hands when he tried to see for himself, but he felt it rumble in his chest and somewhere in the night it sounded as if the rock itself was groaning in pain. It was similar to actual earthquakes he’d witnessed before, but different enough that it disoriented him for a few moments.

Once it was over neither him nor Jack managed to shake the uneasiness. 

The need to focus on the road and help each other along was both a curse and a blessing. 

Gabriel didn’t get to dwell on the new revelations of what had befallen Jack for having destroyed the Horn of Ornax much, but he also couldn’t ignore Jack’s presence at all, like he had before. He needed to talk to him when trying to decide how best to climb up a particular bit of the mountain, or when they discussed whether to climb up a slope or walk around a particularly tall section of rock. Some of those required them to quite literally give the other a hand, with Jack reaching out to steady Gabriel as he searched for a spot in the rock to hold on to, and Gabriel grabbing Jack’s hand to pull him up a last bit of cliff.

A hollow spot was aching in Gabriel’s chest where the old knot of anger and bitterness had rested for so many years, with nothing to replace such a driving emotion. The constant reminder of Jack’s betrayal had been so pivotal to Gabriel’s view on him and the world in general, that being in his proximity now left him at a loss about what to think or feel at all.

Jack on his part seemed happily content in ignoring his brief outburst of anger or his comment about how he got the scars on his face. He returned to being hesitant around Gabriel and trying not to do anything to anger him. It was more obvious now than before, with his glances each time he said anything that indicated their journey not going smoothly through the mountains, or when he objected to any of Gabriel’s suggestions. Gabriel hadn’t really noticed it before, but now he was sure that this was what he saw in Jack’s behaviour. 

Perhaps it was Jack’s way of trying to avoid confrontation about the big unresolved issue of his initial betrayal, but now that Gabriel knew the consequences Jack had suffered from it, it became disconcerting. Seeing the marks on Jack’s face just made Gabriel wonder why Jack hadn’t yelled at him for bring a cursed object into their home, why he hadn’t blamed him for having indirectly caused such a defacing injury as his scars. Admittedly, the curse was probably only as strong on Jack because he’d destroyed the Horn in a fit of self-righteousness, but he might have gotten traces of it even if he hadn’t decided to go behind Gabriel’s back and still have ended up with demons on his trail without doing anything to cause it.

Gabriel certainly would have gotten angry if their positions had been reversed.

Besides, didn’t this give Jack all the more reasons to claim Gabriel to be foolish and too involved with evil kinds of magic?

Yet there had been none of that, not even when Gabriel had used the magic Jack looked down on to flee from demons and caused further injuries with their rough landing.

Two days into their path through the Cradle and Gabriel found himself hoping that Jack would do something like that, yell or insult or anything to help him figure out what to do with his own opinion of the man. Anything to confirm that he hadn’t been wrong about Jack, or that he hadn’t somehow changed drastically. Even a return to the anger displayed about being mauled by demons would have been preferable to the strange closed off version of Jack he was with now, but Jack hadn’t shown any sign of that since he threw his flask.

Nightfall brought no relief from the doubts plaguing his mind, nor from the day’s exhaustion. The strange rumbling grew more frequent the closer they were to the Source most likely, and by now it reminded Gabriel more of an earthquake he’d experienced before in the sensation, if not in the specific frequency and pauses.

A dread settled in his chest, not letting Gabriel sleep until it was over.

He lay on his back, staring at the ceiling and trying to listen to any quiet sounds indicating danger that might be hidden by the rumble, with Jack on his side and his back turned.

“I can’t figure it out,” Gabriel said after a while. He couldn’t be sure if Jack was awake or not, but somehow he thought the once familiar pattern of Jack’s breathing indicated that he was.

“For so long I was just angry about all of this. And I can’t figure out a _why_. Why did you do the things you did?”

Gabriel turned his head to look at the dark shape of Jack’s shoulder, waiting for a reply. For a few moments Jack was strangely still, but he didn’t shift nor say a word, so Gabriel sighed and wrapped his blankets closer around himself to try and sleep after all.

 

*

The rumbles turned into a real earthquake at the worst possible moment.

Gabriel was busy climbing up a particularly annoying bit of rock, cursing quietly as he tried to feel for a good handhold, when the entire mountain seemed to tremble with the hit of something massive.

A sharp yelp was all he got out before his hand slipped off the rock, just a few frozen seconds of weightlessness of wild flailing being all it took for him to lose his balance entirely. Gabriel was ready to brace himself against an impact with magic when Jack’s hand shot out from above to grab his lapel.

Some heaving, dragging and a muttered thanks later Gabriel was on solid ground again, and yet the rumbling wouldn’t stop. They waited it out, as they always did, but the rumble stretched on for ten minutes, with smaller pebbles bouncing over the ground and down the edge Gabriel had nearly fallen over. 

Just before it was over Gabriel heard the faintest whistle, barely audible over the sound of the groaning rock. A shiver went down his back at the sound, and a glance at Jack confirmed that he had noticed it too.

Without another word they got up and hurried along and away from the sound.

Not happy with mountains in general, Gabriel was downright nervous with the rocks around them after they squeezed through some narrow crevice and found a proper path again. There were too many steep drops, too many mountain walls and unstable looking outcrops. Too many ways to get thrown off or be hit by falling rocks or have someone sneak up on you.

“We can’t stay here,” Gabriel said the further they moved away from the crevice they had come through. It had been uncomfortably narrow, but long and slim enough to make it impossible for demons to reach them at the very least. Perhaps nothing was following them, but he preferred being less locked in. His hair stood on end and he prayed that he was just being too paranoid once again.

“We have no choice,” was Jack’s curt reply.

He lead Gabriel towards an outcrop to jump over a slim but deep abyss towards a broader section of walkable path. None of it looked very solid to Gabriel, but he couldn’t focus on walking and keeping a sharp eye on their surroundings simultaneously too much.

“This entire area is too exposed, anything can sneak up and we’re at a disadvantage-“

“I _know_.”

Jack’s jaw was clenched as he glanced at the very spots Gabriel was sure something would hide if something was indeed lurking here. He sped up at least, now walking as fast as was possible without risking falling down, and Gabriel did his best to keep up.

Running would do no good if there was something, they had to get away and quickly.

“Lets try flying,” Gabriel suggested, already aware of this putting them at a disadvantage. “You can rise higher than most things can reach, right?”

“If I do that neither of us will be able to fend off attacks. I can’t outmanoeuvre spells or even projectiles if I hold on to you.”

Not even a suggestion of splitting up at least.

Gabriel conjured a small ball of black flame over his palm, refusing to look at Jack lest he see disapproval. He did hear the faint buzz of electric charge though, and heard the shuffle of Jack readying his staff.

His eyes moved over the possible choices they had. Their path was narrow, and would possibly make it hard to defend themselves against something that could keep its balance much easier on the brittle looking rock. Climbing up would make them targets and there was no guarantee that they wouldn’t fall, especially if a rumble started up again. Same thing went for climbing down, even if it might hide them from sight for a while. Most of the magic that was strong enough to get rid of demons wasn’t as focused as Gabriel would have preferred, putting them at risk to cause a rockslide, and Gabriel would rather not have to deal with beasts without the use of magic. But they had no choice, could just push on.

They were trapped.

As if sensing that realization the howling Gabriel had dreaded to hear started up again, much closer than was comfortable and echoing through the canyon with a disorienting cacophony.

And there, high above and through crevices all around them the eerie glow of frost and ice as the demons approached.

They were snarling, snapping their heavy jaws and whetting their claws against the stone. It was the same pack as before, and Gabriel just knew that they no longer were in the mood to toy with their food.

“Go!”

Jack’s call wasn’t necessary to tear Gabriel from the clutches of fear, his instinct to run taking over any desire to fight and beating the shock.

Gone was any semblance of care or balance as Jack made a run for it, not paying attention to where he was going, simply leaping over rocks and narrow enough fissures in the path, and Gabriel was right behind. They crashed against the mountain side and stumbled though far too much to gain any speed, ignoring the cuts and bruises from hitting rock and just trying not to fall or slow down. 

Leaping on four legs the demons gained ground much too fast, any issues they faced in lack of agility more than made up for. They had the advantage with their jumps and their claws that helped regain their balance, and far too quickly Gabriel felt their ice cold breath burn against his skin.

He skidded to his knees, not one second too early as sharp teeth snapped at the space he had just occupied, balling one hand into a fist and punching up with fire encasing it. Gabriel managed to sock the demon right in the jaw, cracking its head back and catching it off balance.

There was no time to get up and run again, already Gabriel gathered another burst of energy in his hands and pushed against the demon, knocking it back once again. It snarled, ready to retaliate as two of its pack mates closed in; ready to tear Gabriel apart. With an angry scream he put all his effort into focusing his energy once more, pulling his hand back for a strike and then let the pent up energy shoot his body forward, right at the jaws of the first demon just when all three lunged at him. The immense unbridled arcane death energy and Gabriel’s reckless leap right at the demon’s teeth worked out to his favour, unleashing his attack right against the neck of the first demon even as icy claws ripped through his coat and grazed his back.

A horrid shatter clanged in his ears as the demon before him broke into pieces like a dropped cup. It barely managed to let out a pained scream before it was gone, leaving its mates confused for just a second before they howled in renewed rage. They probably hadn’t counted on their prey actually being able to defend themselves this well.

Gabriel landed on his stomach and rolled away as quickly as he could, narrowly avoiding a tail whipping at him. The only escape was away from the path, down the abyss, so Gabriel let himself fall.

Fortunately for him the rock wasn’t a solid vertical wall leading down, but rather a ragged uneven mess with enough ledges jutting out for Gabriel to hit one on his way down. It knocked the air from his lungs but gave him enough time to jump up to his feet and pull two of his knives from their sheaths in his coat.

He jumped across the gap of the abyss, barely making it to the other side of rock where a bigger ledge would offer a better foothold, and looked over his shoulder to see where the other demons had gone. The two that had closed in on him where leaping a few feet above his head, following him to the other side of the gap and already turning to glare down at him. Jack was a little away from where Gabriel had slain the first demon, fighting grimly and knocking away three more demons.

Those were starting to turn their heads towards Gabriel’s position though, and with a curse he realized that there was a gash on his side were his coat had torn, and blood was seeping through the fabric. It wasn’t too bad a wound, but now the demons would focus on the prey that was already injured and separated from the other mage and any feasible escape route.

“Come at me then,” Gabriel roared, flicking his knives to let hellish magic stream through them as well. “Best not miss!”

As if accepting the taunt the demons lurking above him and one that had previously focused on Jack leaped at once.

Gabriel spun away from the first, avoiding the claws, and then was knocked against the wall when the next crashed right against his chest to pin him to the rock. He snarled at it, lashing out and burying both his knives into its back to the hilt. A lesser blade would have shattered against the ice panzer the beast sported there, but with his magic Gabriel slid through ice and flesh easily, sending a burst of hellfire directly into its flesh.

The demon stumbled back with a howl, contorting in pain before tumbling over the edge, already dying.

Not stopping to celebrate his brief victory Gabriel leapt at the next demon, slashing across its face and leaving a burning scar across the ugly mug, as it reared back just in time. It left a sort of bitter satisfaction in him, even if this demon hadn’t been the one to cause a similar injury on Jack’s face. 

He blocked a set of claws trying to tear at his throat and knocked back another with a quick burst of wind. A tail aimed at his chest like his spear nearly got him, forcing Gabriel to jump back and barely allowed him to keep his balance. He used the momentum of that to swing his entire body forward, severing a hind leg with a flame-encased knife, and rolling over the rock to get himself out of being surrounded.

Somewhere Gabriel thought he heard an echoed scream mixed in with the death throes of a demon, but he couldn’t focus on that either. His entire vision zeroed in on the white and blue in front of him, tracking every twitch and every sound of the demons.

He took a blunt punch to his ribs, forcing his body to move forward and break through the defence the demons had started to build up the second they realized Gabriel could and would burn them to a crisp.

He accepted punches and tails whipping against his body to deal out cuts and crack icy bodies, grinning viciously and allowing flames of black and red to dance around his arms as he spun and slashed and fought as if he was ready to drag those demons back to their hells personally.

Another demon screeched in pain as Gabriel forced fire down its throat, risking his arm being bitten off but earning a victory as the demon crumbled to ash and shards.

It was as far as luck would have it apparently, as something moved past his defences faster than he could turn and block, and then pain pierced up Gabriel’s leg like dozens of swords all at once.

Gabriel screamed as he lost his balance, dragged back by jaws clamped around his thigh and shaking him to prevent him from getting back up.

Tears obscured his vision as Gabriel hit the dusty rock face first, choking on it and barely managing to keep his fingers clamped around his knives as he felt as if his entire body was turning to ice from the pain. The other remaining demon had moved behind its mate, both out of reach of the knives and out of Gabriel’s field of vision.

Looked like he was in deep shit once again.

Through his tears Gabriel looked up towards the sky, and then the path he’d jumped off from. Jack was lying on his stomach as well, right at the edge, the hand that held his staff outstretched, aiming somewhere just above Gabriel-

Gabriel couldn’t even let out a warning shout as a spiralling blast of energy cracked against the rock just above him with the force of an entire thunderstorm pressed into one burst of power.

The teeth around his thigh were gone, but so was the sense of gravity, as the entire mountain range seemed to shake with the hit that had crashed into it. The ground dropped away under Gabriel, and just before he fell he saw Jack push himself over the edge and fall towards him.

With a tremendous effort Gabriel cast a protective bubble around himself, hoping to at least cushion the inevitable fall a little bit. Jack’s arms were around him just before he was thrown off the ledge completely, and then they were falling.

Rocks were crashing down all around them, and for a second Gabriel wondered if Jack had somehow managed to destroy the mountains with a single attack. A giant boulder barely missed them as it crashed down and flattened one of the demons under it, and Gabriel saw the remaining two try and scramble for a safety that no longer existed as everything came crumbling down around them.

Whatever spells Jack was trying to cast to help cushion their fall didn’t do much, and Gabriel’s own barely did anything to prevent the many times the pair crashed into rock and bounced right off and down the abyss. Tucking his head against Jack’s chest and doing his best to somehow protectively wrap his arms around Jack’s head Gabriel prayed to all the gods that he wouldn’t die from a broken neck just after escaping a pack of demons.

Each crack of flesh against stone dashed his hopes for survival in half, each hit made him fear that his bones would shatter and leave him unable to move as he struggled for air with the impact.

Then, with a forceful push of wind and Jack’s laboured grunt of effort it was over. One last bounce and Gabriel was falling _up_ , and then rolling over solid flat ground before coming to a halt.

Gabriel rested his cheek against the rough earth he lay on, breathing heavily and trying to gulp down as much fresh air as possible. It was mercifully warm and the numbness in his leg turned to pain, which meant it hadn’t frozen off at the very least.

By his side Jack braced against the ground, shaking and coughing and clutching his ribs. His coat was torn and bloodied, but at least he hadn’t lost his staff, unlike Gabriel who must have dropped his knives during the fall. He looked around frantically before turning his head to stare at Gabriel.

“Escaped death again,” Gabriel said with a weak smile, tasting blood where he had bitten his lips too hard.

Instead of smiling in turn Jack heaved his body around and edged over to Gabriel on his knees, shaky fingers already reaching for the pouch at his side that contained various healing potions and supplies.

“Let me see your leg,” he said, hands already reaching for Gabriel’s shoulder to help him sit up.

Jack fumbled with Gabriel’s boot, and then pushed his pant leg up carefully to see the bite marks left behind by the demon. His skin was horrifically discoloured there, an ashy grey stretched over his leg, turning to black around the deep gashes that weren’t even bleeding anymore. With practiced movements Jack took out some tinctures to help revive the frozen flesh and clean up the wounds, which were still numb from the cold.

To spare himself the horrifying sight Gabriel tried checking himself for other injuries. Besides the gash on his side that he’d have to clean up but could leave alone otherwise there were only bruises and scratches from the fall and from being beaten around.

Jack was done in record time, wrapping a bandage around Gabriel’s leg and then moving closer to drag at his coat.

“Let me see those,” he demanded. “You got to have those taken care of now.”

Gabriel turned to protest, completely capable of doing that himself, but his words died in his throat as he noticed the state Jack was in for the first time. His already pale face now looked sickly so, chalk white and the bruises under Jack’s eyes standing out all the more for it. Blood caked the lower half of his face where he must have been punched pretty hard, but worst of all were the claw marks that had ripped through his clothes and skin.

The blue fabric of his coat looked nearly black with the blood soaking it, and even now Gabriel could see more blood pouring out over Jack’s skin and into his clothes.

“We have to take care of this first,” he hissed, batting Jack’s hands away only to have them return to try and fix Gabriel’s wounds like he was the one bleeding out on the spot.

“I’ve told you, I’ve told you a thousand times that it’ll get infected if you don’t clean wounds as soon as possible,” Jack hissed, as if Gabriel had taken some calculated risk again and needed to be patched up. He tried to reach for Gabriel’s shoulder to hold him in place, a piece of bandage soaked with cleaning tincture already raised.

“And I will clean it, but I’m not gonna die from blood loss if we don’t take care of this first.”

Jack growled when Gabriel batted his hands away, and only as Gabriel forcefully lunged for his collar to shake him did he let out a pained hiss before nearly crumbling to the ground. His eyes darted to his own torn flesh, panting hard, and then he finally allowed Gabriel to help him sit down properly.

“Is that the only wound?” Gabriel asked, calmer now that Jack wasn’t fighting his help.

“I think so.”

Gabriel took Jack’s pouch from him, his hands nowhere near as steady as Jack’s were with that task. He’d never been as good at healing crafts of any kind, and watching the blue coat turn to black with the weight of Jack’s blood made Gabriel’s stomach clench uncomfortably.

Jack grit his teeth soundlessly as Gabriel helped him remove the clothes to bare his torso and reveal the two deep cuts in his side, only interrupting briefly to drag out and summon his tent so they could at least be somewhere sheltered.

Despite Gabriel’s best efforts to remember how to best deal with Jack’s injury he ended up listening to Jack quietly ordering him about. He was familiar with cleaning injuries, but Jack was the one to whisper quiet incantations as he applied the salve that would prevent the cold from doing lasting damage to his flesh. He was the one to clean the blood and dust from Jack’s skin with trembling hands, but Jack ended up bandaging up his torso himself, claiming that he knew how tight it had to be better than anyone.

Only when Gabriel helped Jack lie down without jostling his aching side, did the calm leave him, and Jack started shivering and groaning in pain. He looked so frail and close to death like that, pale with blood loss and so weak from the fight, that Gabriel’s heart clenched at the sight.

This wasn’t what Jack was supposed to look like, and so vulnerable and miserable at that.

Gabriel tore himself from hovering at Jack’s side nervously, chiding himself for being a hypocrite and not taking care of his own injuries. Sure, he wouldn’t die from neglecting them for a bit, but he had to see to them anyway.

Once the one gash that needed a bandage was taken care of Gabriel carefully crawled about the tent, dragging his numb leg behind him carefully, heating water in Jack’s potion brewing corner, gathering the bloodied clothes to soak them and wash off the blood, prepared a tea from various herbs he found and recognized, and then set to heating up some broth. It was an arduous task with his injured leg and trying not to get too close to Jack and disturb him, but he managed.

When the tea was done he crawled over to Jack and gently supported his head while helping him drink, Jack’s own hands too shaky to keep the cup steady and sloshing the contents everywhere. Jack felt cold and clammy to the touch as Gabriel brushed some stray strands of hair back in a comforting gesture, the effect of an ice demon attack taking its toll along with the fight’s exertions.

After a while Jack fell asleep, leaving Gabriel alone with his thoughts. He sat by Jack’s side for what felt like hours, afraid that somehow Jack’s situation would worsen and he would require help the second Gabriel’s attention was elsewhere. He was shaking in his sleep, teeth clattering together occasionally, and barely calmed down when Gabriel tried to wipe the sweat from his brow or just cup his jaw soothingly.

Finally Gabriel forced himself to do something useful with his time.

Some rubbing and a spell left their clothes free of blood and reasonably dry, so he found threads and a needle and set to mend the damaged fabric. Jack’s coat came first, as it had sustained the most damage and would be uncomfortable to wear with the ripped bits. Something clenched in Gabriel’s gut as he gathered the coat in his lap and ran his fingers over the torn edges, feeling where claws had torn through it to get at Jack. He’d seen the corresponding injuries, and yet he felt a shiver run down his spine as he examined it.

Sewing the pieces back together felt like doing something at least. Gabriel felt pretty damn useless sitting at Jack’s side and waiting for his cold fever to break, but the familiar chore of fixing a broken piece of clothing soothed him a little. The in and out of the slim horn needle was hypnotic in its rhythm, every pull of the thread easing away his worries until Gabriel’s mind was blank and only focused on the task at hand.

He was halfway through closing up the larger of the two gashes when a groan from Jack broke Gabriel’s concentration. He laid down his work to turn and found Jack staring at him with unfocused eyes.

“Gabe,” he whispered, sounding way too weak, and Gabriel leaned closer to feel his temperature. Still too cold.

“It’s fine, you were asleep but you’re healing so you’ve got to rest.”

“I never told you why I did it,” Jack said, turning his head to stare up, letting Gabriel’s hand slip from his forehead.

“Did what?” Gabriel asked, wondering if Jack would be able to keep down the broth he’d made.

“I was scared they’d find out about what you did and arrest you,” Jack whispered, barely audible and Gabriel froze in his movement.

“They don’t act kind towards schools of magic with a history of violence,” Jack went on. “Especially not if it’s a stranger from other lands. Especially if it’s necromancy. There’s been too many of those doing gods knows what kind of damage in the Zarrbar, and never in our history did we have a powerful necromancer who didn’t try to mess with things. I don’t think anyone’s ever gonna take a chance with that again.”

Gabriel leaned away from Jack, wishing that he had the willpower to interrupt and make Jack rest but instead he watched as Jack shook, whether from cold or agitation he didn’t know, and let him go on.

“Do you know what they do in Floretcreek when they imprison mages for misuse of magic?”

Here Jack’s eyes finally moved back to Gabriel, and tears were starting to spill over his cheeks.

“There’s a few cells, ancient ones with runes and spells that are nearly impossible to reproduce, but if a mage is stuck in one they just- the magic is gone. You’re stuck in there and while you’re trapped behind those bars there not a speck of energy you can access, not the faintest trace of arcane powers you can even _feel_.”

Jack stared at Gabriel’s hands for a few seconds, tears still falling.

“I saw that damn Horn and I knew what you did, and I _knew_ people would find out because you can’t hide stuff like that easily and I know you do these things so people will know how powerful you are, so you wouldn’t even try to hide it that well. And I knew they’d drag you into one of those cells cause any accusation of necromancy results in that. They’d have locked you away without magic, Gabe. They’d have leave you to rot or worse.”

Gabriel listened, feeling cold to the core. He’d heard of such things, but he hadn’t ever heard of Floretcreek having a prison like that. Sure, he’d wondered what he would do in case of punishment like that but he had never thought that his magic could be locked away as well. The mere thought made him feel sick, any attempt to imagine it making him think that they might as well blind him and cut off his hands and ears if they were going to throw him in such a place.

Jack was crying in earnest now, words spilling from his lips like the tears over his cheeks.

“Your magic is- I know it’s part of you in ways that’s unique to who you are, and that you rely on it like others rely on their sense of feeling or their sight or breathing and I thought of you trapped by yourself, unable to escape punishment for something you didn’t even do yet.”

He paused as he took a shuddering breath. His eyes closed for a moment before he went on.

“I knew you’re not doing anything that could be recognized as death magic in that city before you went and used necromancy to get to that thing right in the capital. I knew you were conceited about how untouchable you are, you wouldn’t have cared about punishment by law, and I panicked because I couldn’t think of anything but making sure nobody could ever accuse you in the first place, I was so angry that you’d do something so reckless and stupid so I didn’t even think of what you’d have to say about it. I broke that damn thing and I didn’t even explain, and I squandered any trust and love between us cause I didn’t, and I paid for it over and over and I won’t ever get rid of the reminders of what I did but-“

He paused, choking on his words, and Gabriel shook his head.

“Don’t. You don’t need to-“

“I don’t expect forgiveness, but I needed you to know why I did it. You hate me for destroying your hard work, and I’d hate me too, but I would do it over and over again if it meant you’d never be locked in a cage, cause I can’t bear the thought of it- Sometimes I feel like you hating me is just what I deserve, and I shouldn’t even try to explain-“

Jack squeezed his eyes shut, and Gabriel felt his eyes burn.

Shame washed over him as he looked at Jack’s face, marred by scars and twisted in misery.

So many years of pain from both their stupidity, Gabriel’s anger and arrogance, mixed in with Jack’s rashness and need to protect those he loved from anything and everyone, despite of what they wanted. All of the rage he had directed at Jack burned in his conscience, and Gabriel wished nothing more but to somehow alter time and force himself to never even start looking for the damn Horn. It hadn’t been worth this.

Shaky hands reached for Jack’s face, thumbs wiping away his tears.

“I don’t hate you,” Gabriel managed to say, voice cracking.

Jack blinked up at him, eyes still the beautiful blue Gabriel had loved for so many years, regardless of how weak he looked.

“You have every right to.”

“No.”

Jack’s hand curled around Gabriel’s wrist weakly, not pushing away, just holding on to him. Gabriel sighed and leaned over Jack’s face, kissing his sharp cheekbone gently.

“I should be the one to beg for forgiveness, not you. You saved me from a horrid fate I hadn’t even considered and there I was, hating you for it instead of even pausing to think...”

Jack’s free arm wrapped around Gabriel’s shoulders, pulling him closer with a pained whimper.

“The way I acted there was no reason for you to think I was tried to help you… I don’t know if I did, I was so angry and afraid in that moment.”

“You didn’t deserve knowing that I hate you while you knew I owed you. Jack, I don’t care what caused my anger, it wasn’t the truth, and you suffered for it.”

He ran his fingers over Jack’s scars, suddenly feeling angry at himself in ways he hadn’t experienced before. Looking at Jack’s face he managed to swallow it down though, and rested his forehead against the other’s.

“What a pair of fools we are,” Jack managed to say with a chuckle, nuzzling up against Gabriel’s nose in a way that Gabriel felt was too soft a gesture for how he’d treated him for years. “Shouldn’t have gone to Floretcreek to begin with.”

“I don’t care about Floretcreek,” Gabriel muttered. “If you want to go back I’d follow you. If you’d have me…”

Jack let out a deep breath, his hand shaking from the effort of reaching up.

“Honestly, there’s nothing I wanted more in the past years than have you back at my side.”

“They that’s where I’ll be,” Gabriel promised.

He did not deserve to even think of it, but he angled his head down and pressed his lips to Jack’s in a soft kiss, half a promise and half an apology.

Before he could even think of pulling back, Jack let out a sigh and tilted his head up to return the kiss. It was sweet and chaste, a whisper soft thing, hesitant but steady. Gabriel’s lip ached where it had split, and Jack’s felt different, the scar cutting through it serving as a reminder that this wasn’t a dream of how they used to be.

When Gabriel pulled away he didn’t know what to say, an apology already on his lips, but Jack was smiling at him, tears still staining his cheeks and fever nowhere near gone.

“Gabe, stay,” he pleaded, and Gabriel carefully lowered himself down do lie by Jack’s side.

He pulled the blankets over both of them, and gathered Jack in his arms, heart beating too hard. Jack shuddered a little, but pressed closer to Gabriel’s side, already slipping out of consciousness as the outburst had robbed him of his energy already.

And just like that, years of resentment and bitterness crumbled away like cold ash in a breeze, and Gabriel held Jack in his arms as if this was where he had always been, as if there had never been any doubts about this being where he belonged.


	7. A Shroud of Rain

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> there be smut here

Both of them being injured and with nothing urgent enough to force them to push on with their journey, led Gabriel to decide that they should have at least one day of resting in the relative safety of Jack’s tent. They had supplies, they had shelter, and with the demons gone it was unlikely that anything might attack them, especially with how devoid of life the Cradle seemed apart those fiends.

Jack’s fever broke early the following morning, and his fitful sleep turned into a peaceful doze some time around dawn. Gabriel didn’t bother waking him up to better figure out how he was feeling, choosing to keep watch instead just in case his condition worsened again.

It was the strangest thing to hold a vigil by the side of the man who was his former lover and foe, now returned to an uncertain status between the two. A few times during the watch Gabriel worried for Jack’s state, when he started to shiver enough for his teeth to clatter, but there were hours of uneventful watch between those. Once their clothes were mended and Gabriel was left without a task to occupy his hands and mind with he was at the mercy of his worries and doubts, nothing to do but staring at Jack’s sleeping form.

Was it really this easy to brush off years of pain and rage to return to what they had? Too much had changed, too much hurt had saturated their time apart and they weren’t the same anymore. Just looking at Jack’s face was a reminder of Gabriel’s foolishness and how it had mixed with Jack’s stubborn streak to cause them both harm.

Kissing Jack had been a spur of the moment thing, with Jack wrecked by his confession and the injuries he still was recovering from. Though Gabriel yearned to taste Jack’s lips again and just forget about everything he wasn’t sure what it would be like when Jack had a clear mind and wasn’t acting with the shock of a near death experience fresh on his memory.

Though he was loath to admit it, Gabriel quietly prayed in the early morning hours when Jack seemed to feel worse and worse with nothing Gabriel could do besides wipe the sweat off his brow and check his injuries before he finally looked to be doing better.

It felt both silly and presumptuous to do so, but at least it was something Gabriel could do with his lack of significant healing skills. He stared at Jack and soundlessly moved his lips as he begged the Mother to leave Jack be, to not take him as his time certainly hadn’t come yet. Jack had survived worse, of course he had, but Gabriel somehow felt like fate might just snatch him away the second he felt like he needed Jack back in his life.

Gabriel didn’t know if the strange shiver that ran down his back was just caused by the memory of being in the goddess’ presence, or whether the Mother was actually listening to him. If she did, he sincerely hoped that it was just a familiar mortal calling to her that pulled her attention, and not Jack’s life thread running thin.

When Jack finally awoke Gabriel could have sobbed in relief. Disregarding his own exhaustion he made sure to give Jack something to drink, asking how he felt as he supported Jack’s head and only getting grunts as a reply. It didn’t last, and Jack quickly fell asleep again. Figuring that the worst was over now Gabriel allowed himself to lie down and get some real rest as well then.

It was midday when both of them were in any state to move about and Gabriel finally caught up on sleep. He woke up to Jack looking at their rations, blearily sorting through smoke-dried vegetables.

“I’ll take care of it,” Gabriel said quietly, sliding up on his knees to take the bag from Jack’s hands. “You check if we have enough medicine and so on.”

Jack gave him a strange look, one that could nearly be read as nervous, but Gabriel ignored it in favour of trying to set up a proper cooking corner in the tent. Best not risk leaving its safety to do so outside while both of them were hurt, and make do with the protection spells Jack had laced the thing with.

They fell into comfortable silence as they worked, with Jack occasionally speaking up to ask Gabriel to hand him one of the tools that lined the tent’s side as he set to replace the medicine he’d used up the day before.

Gabriel watched out of the corner of his eye as Jack carefully peeled off his old bandages to check on his wounds and apply some more of the medicine that prevented cold damage. Jack grunted in discomfort occasionally, but his skin only looked faintly bruised thanks to the magic so at least he was healing. Gabriel nearly felt disappointed when Jack pulled his shirt back on.

As Jack did so he paused and looked at the carefully stitched up cuts on his shirt, ran a thumb over them and then glanced up at Gabriel.

“Thank you for that,” he said, voice laced with more emotion than such a simple thing warranted, and Gabriel shrugged.

“No problem.”

Returning his attention to the stew he had started Gabriel tried to ignore his racing heart. It wasn’t that things were awkward now, but some unresolved tension hung in the air. He could practically feel Jack’s eyes on him, though he didn’t want to turn back and confirm for himself that he was being stared at. As easy as it was to fall back into familiar patterns, they still had both gone through years of knowing of Gabriel’s animosity towards Jack. One single kiss after escaping death and with one of them being feverish didn’t just cancel that out.

One single kiss…

Gabriel was relieved when the food was done, giving him a reason to face Jack once more and get rid of the feeling that he was being watched.

They ate quietly, Gabriel keeping his eyes on the stew, and Jack doing the same from what he could tell at the edge of his vision. It had been relatively dark all day, but eventually the sound of heavy rain hitting the tent filled the silence and Gabriel summoned a few lights as neither of them felt like bothering with the lamps.

Once they set down their bowls Jack pulled out another one of his healing fields, speaking the spell that filled the tent with the warm yellow glow, immediately making Gabriel relax into it. He watched the flat dish with the pretty golden liquid until Jack leaned back to lie down, and hissed as the motion pulled at the cuts in his side.

Immediately Gabriel moved closer, bracing Jack’s back with one hand and patting his shoulder comfortingly with the other. Again Jack shot him that strange nervous look, but didn’t protest when Gabriel helped him lie back in his makeshift bed.

“Do you need anything?” Gabriel asked, just to get another question instead.

“Why are you doing this?”

They stared at each other for a few moments, Jack with a frown and Gabriel just unsure of what he meant.

“I mean, why are you helping me like that? Hovering like some sort of mother hen and everything.”

“Because I’m concerned?”

Gabriel wasn’t sure what else to say, but Jack sighed and shook his head. It was the truth, he did worry about Jack causing himself any unnecessary pain, and it felt natural to try and fuzz over him.

“You’re too stubborn to pretend you worry if you don’t,” Jack said after a while, not looking at Gabriel. “But this just seems strange of you after everything I did. Like you still care when I know I did everything to give you no reason to.”

Leaning forward Gabriel hovered over Jack’s face, forcing his old love to meet his eye.

“I thought I had no reason to, but it looks like I have every reason to beg you on my knees to forgive me. Of course I care about what happens with you.”

At Jack’s raised eyebrow he just shook his head.

“Did you forget what you told me last night? If it was the truth- and what reason did you have to lie to me like that? If it’s true… Then you never wronged me to begin with.”

Jack avoided his gaze then, staring at the golden source of the healing field. The expression on his face was far too melancholy for Gabriel’s taste, but he didn’t know what he was permitted to do to cheer him up anymore.

“I didn’t lie,” Jack said after a while. “I just never wanted to tell you any of it. My reasons sound like stupid excuses and attempts to win your trust back in my own head. I acted rashly and like an idiot who doesn’t know you at all. I should have guessed what your reaction would be, but I went ahead anyway.”

Gabriel’s hand reached out and brushed over Jack’s cheek by its own accord, and Jack flinched as his head jerked back to stare up at him. The gentle gesture was both alien and familiar, and Gabriel has missed it more than he knew.

“I don’t care. You tried to protect me. You probably did save me from my own stupidity. Does it matter how it sounds like to you? To me it sounds like I’m the one who’s not worthy of you.”

He squeezed his eyes shut, berating himself for his own rage having caused their rift to grow impossibly broad again.

“I don’t know what to do to make up for the years I spent hating you for doing something so stupidly selfless.”

Jack’s calloused fingers brushed over the hand that Gabriel still hadn’t pulled away from his cheek.

“Would you listen if I told you there’s nothing to make up for?”

Gabriel shook his head, and Jack let out a pained chuckle.

“Then how about you kiss me to make up for the years of not doing that?”

When Gabriel gave him a sharp look there was a glint of mischief in Jack’s eyes, though his expression was serious otherwise.

“Anything you wish,” Gabriel said, keeping his tone light to hide the burn of emotion that threatened to choke him.

Jack’s lips were still slightly chapped, but warm and tasting just like Gabriel remembered from so long ago. It was a soft kiss, but without hesitation and Jack’s arms wrapped around Gabriel’s neck as soon as Gabriel was close enough to do so.

They broke apart far sooner than Gabriel would have preferred. He looked at Jack with a twinge of concern, but Jack’s cheeks were flushed slightly and he seemed pleased enough.

“How about you lie down with me?” Jack requested, now sounding a little less sure of himself, though Gabriel liked to think that the crack in his voice was from the kiss and not just nerves.

This time Gabriel complied without comment, pulling out of Jack’s hold to lie down at his side. Jack pulled up the blankets and wrapped them around Gabriel’s shoulders before taking Gabriel’s arm and draping it across his chest to be held. Gabriel smirked and edged closer until his face was pressed against Jack’s neck and Jack’s hand curled around his wrist.

It was the most comfortable place he’d been in since before their fight.

Jack was properly warm now, and he smelled very much alive as well. His body felt just a little different than it used to, his muscle harder against Gabriel, but still the same as he remembered otherwise.

After a few minutes of nothing but holding each other Gabriel dismissed the lights he had created before, leaving them in the golden half-light of Jack’s potion, with the darkness and rain outside shrouding them in a bubble of security. Perhaps it was nothing but Jack’s presence and a mending relationship that made Gabriel feel that way, but with Jack’s side pressed to his and the rain prattling against the tent while he was warm he couldn’t bring himself to care about anything else.

With the familiar presence at his side and the gentle sounds of nature that could not touch him outside Gabriel felt like he might as well be lulled to sleep. The body he was leaning against stirring shook him out of that eventually.

Jack pulled away, but only enough to be able to turn his head and look at Gabriel. In the glow of the healing field Jack’s face looked like it was spun from gold, all warm and beautiful like that.

“You know, things aren’t just fixed like it’s nothing, right?”

He looked pained at having to say these words, and for a few seconds Gabriel wasn’t sure what he meant.

“What, kissing you and lying by your side like nothing happened?”

Jack nodded, still pained.

“I know I went behind your back with this, and you were right in being angry as well. We both changed, things happened in the years apart. You can’t just assume that things will be the way they were like nothing ever changed at all.”

Gabriel propped himself up on his elbow to stare down at Jack for a few moments, considering. Somehow he couldn’t bring himself to care about taking it slow and figuring things out when he had Jack right there.

“I can’t say I care that much,” he eventually said, quickly going on when he noticed Jack trying to say something about that.

“Why can’t I just try to have what we had back then? Yeah, maybe we do have to talk and figure things out properly. But what’s stopping us from doing both at once? Being together and figuring things out as we go.”

He leaned down to press another kiss to Jack’s lips, reluctant to break apart again.

“I doubt you changed as much as you think,” Gabriel whispered against Jack’s lips. “You’re just more gruff now, that’s it. But hey, I’ve been like since the start and you still fancied me.”

He kissed Jack once more, unable to resist.

“You damn charmer,” Jack grunted, proving Gabriel’s point. He didn’t protest when Gabriel kissed him again though, instead rolling them over so they were lying on their sides, facing each other.

They kissed, with no hurry or real heat behind it, hands stroking over each other’s faces and necks. The touches were grounding, gentle, just reassurance that neither of them was going anywhere.

When Gabriel’s hand reached the edge of Jack’s bandage he turned his head away to look at it, barely visible in the gap through the blankets. He stared as Jack kissed along his jaw, undeterred by how still Gabriel had gone.

“Honestly, I’m just afraid that we won’t get a chance if we waste time now,” Gabriel finally managed to say, making Jack pause.

“We don’t know what’s waiting for us at the Source. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think we’ll lose but-“

His hand hovered over where Jack’s wounds were, uncertainly.

“This was too close a brush.” 

Jack watched him with a sad smile and stroked his knuckles along Gabriel’s cheekbone tenderly.

“I promise I’ll make sure there’ll be time later.”

When he leaned forward he kissed Gabriel as if to seal that promise, with more heat and intensity in the action that he’d had before. Gabriel sighed softly as he parted his lips slightly, allowing Jack to pull him closer and deepen the kiss.

Gabriel wanted to protest, berate Jack for promising something they both knew was outside their power to keep anyway, but he couldn’t care that much when Jack’s hands were stroking his cheeks and wrapping around the back of his head.

Pressed chest to chest and with Jack’s tongue gently running over his lips Gabriel suddenly felt just how touch starved he was, and with a groan he pressed closer, curling his hands around Jack’s shoulders to keep him in place, as if there was a chance that he’d just roll away and leave.

Gabriel’s entire body was warm and relaxed from the soothing influence of the healing field, but after a few minutes of nothing but kisses and Jack flush against him he felt heat pool in his belly, and his breath picked up.

“If you don’t want to take this further-“ Gabriel gasped breathlessly, once he finally managed to pull away from Jack’s tempting lips, “-you better slow down.”

Jack stared at him for a few moments, eyes dark and lips pink from kissing. Then he pulled away from Gabriel enough to drag his shirt over his head and toss it aside. He threw Gabriel a challenging look like the damned temptation on legs he was and Gabriel followed his example with a chuckle before lying back down and pulling Jack along.

Now free to touch without clothing getting in the way Gabriel’s hands ended up on Jack’s chest as if of their own accord. He squeezed and groped, watching how his fingers looked like against Jack’s slowly reddening skin. Jack’s hands returned to their previous position, nails brushing over Gabriel’s shorn hair without finding any proper purchase. With Gabriel’s face angled away Jack instead started kissing along his forehead and temples, leaving a pleasant tingle where his slightly scruffy chin was moving over Gabriel’s skin.

Something warm brushed over Gabriel’s temple, causing him to startle. A glare at Jack, who was chuckling quietly, confirmed that he had indeed dared to lick Gabriel.

With a growl Gabriel grabbed Jack’s shoulders and pushed him until he was lying on his back and Gabriel could lean in for a kiss. It was sloppy, with Jack now laughing in earnest, their noses bumping and teeth clacking together.

They found their rhythm soon enough, with Jack tipping his head back and moaning against Gabriel’s lips. Gabriel’s hips twitched and he ground down against Jack. Somehow his hands ended up in Jack’s hair, fingers buried between golden and white strands, still as soft as he remembered them to be.

Heat was trapped between their bodies and eventually Gabriel sat back and pushed the blankets away, allowing him to take a good look at Jack’s body in the pretty golden light that seemed tailor made to make him look as gorgeous as possible. He ran his hands over Jack’s abdomen, careful to avoid the bandages and watching as his muscles tensed and twitched under the attention.

When Gabriel’s hands reached the edge of Jack’s waistband, suddenly feeling like this was somehow a bad decision, no matter how much he wanted to touch and love Jack again.

“Are you sure you want to do this?” he asked, hands pausing in their motion.

Jack breathed out hard, lips slightly parted as he considered.

“We really shouldn’t be doing this,” he said eventually, his hands squeezing Gabriel’s biceps slightly.

“But…?”

Jack grinned and squeezed harder.

“To hell with it, I want to.”

Gabriel laughed at Jack’s expression, feeling as if something hard in him had cracked and crumbled away to leave him feeling much lighter than before. He hadn’t thought he’d ever get to just be at ease and so light-hearted around anyone again, least of all Jack.

This time their kiss was more frantic and a lot less coordinated as they somehow tried to keep on touching each other while getting out of their pants and try and help the other with his as well, with generous curses about Gabriel’s being entirely too tight. They managed somehow, kicking them to the side carelessly, finally able to move against each other with nothing keeping their skin from touching. Gabriel bit down on Jack’s lips as he trailed his fingers over his stomach again, just the tips brushing over skin as gently as he could until they brushed over a half hard cock and Jack cried out and threw his head back.

“So eager to get it on?” Gabriel asked, and dipped lower before Jack could protest.

He kissed the skin over Jack’s navel, just at the edge of the bandages, keeping it gentle as he pumped his hand over Jack’s cock at a steady pace. Catching the slick precum and using it to make his motions smooth and just barely firm enough to have Jack cry out in pleasure, writhing and arching up under Gabriel’s lips. It was all far too gentle for Jack to be reacting like this, usually. Right now though Gabriel felt like he could burst from the amount of sensations and the taste of Jack on his lips after so long.

In retaliation for earlier he licked a stripe over Jack’s hip, where he knew Jack to be ticklish. A squawk and a nearly missed knee to the head confirmed that this hadn’t changed at least.

“Do you have lube?” he asked, twisting his wrist to rub at Jack in a new angle.

“Wh-what?” Jack got out, completely out of breath and leaving Gabriel a tiny bit proud about having such an effect on him.

“Lube? Or anything slick, I don’t care. I just don’t actually have any myself because-“ he made a vague hand motion between them, and Jack nodded.

“Sure.”

He sounded a little bit dazed as he rolled over on his stomach and away from Gabriel’s touch to try and reach for his supply bag without actually having to move away.

Gabriel watched the long arch of his back as he fumbled, leaning back on his elbow and propping his head against his hand. Not wanting Jack to get cold after just regaining a decent temperature again he tugged the blankets back up, draping them over their bodies and then rolling over to wrap an arm around Jack’s side. He watched Jack tear through the pockets of his medicine bag with impatient hands for a few moments, before growing impatient himself and leaning down to kiss Jack’s spine at the small of his back.

“Stop that!” Jack hissed immediately, trying to swat at Gabriel’s head but missing at the awkward angle.

“Then hurry up,” Gabriel shot back, pressing another soft kiss along Jack’s spine and wrapping his arms around his hips.

Finally Jack pulled out a small tin containing a sweet smelling salve. Probably some sort of medicine, but Gabriel couldn’t care less about what it was for or whether they might need it for its original purpose soon. Jack wouldn’t waste vital supplies no matter how horny he was after all. Probably. 

Jack reached back to press it into Gabriel’s hand without looking, his ears giving away his blush. Gabriel smiled at the silent demand and scooted up to kiss along Jack’s spine between his shoulder blades. He put the salve aside within easy reach and scooped some of it onto his fingers, rubbing them together to coat them.

Running his knuckles over Jack’s firm arse Gabriel didn’t stop his soft kisses, waiting for Jack to relax a little. Jack braced himself on his elbows and bowed his head down so that his hair was brushing over the floor, already breathing harshly despite Gabriel not having started yet.

“Relax, Jackie,” Gabriel purred against Jack’s skin, his fingers just barely pushing against his entrance.

A chocked moan was all he got in reply as Jack spread his legs further, angling his hips so that he was pushing up against Gabriel’s touch. With a fond smile Gabriel crooked his fingers and dipped in, pushing through the tight ring of muscle with two fingers, carefully watching for any signs of discomfort or too much strain that might lead to Jack hurting himself. Jack’s cry of pleasure was the sweetest sound Gabriel had heard in years, and after a brief moment of arching up tensely Jack’s shoulders slumped and he sank down against the pillow, putty in Gabriel’s hands from so little.

“That good?” Gabriel asked as he slowly started to move his hand, just gently moving his fingers in and out to work the lube into Jack’s body, never really pulling then away fully or going deeper than the second knuckle. There was no need for haste so he could take his time preparing Jack for more while giving him as much pleasure as he could.

Jack let out a groan, relaxing even more as he spread his legs further. His skin tasted of warmth and salt as Gabriel kissed along his shoulder, never stopping his soft thrusting motion.

“’s been a while,” Jack muttered, turning his head so he could glance back at Gabriel. “Still the best damn thing.”

“I’ll take it easy,” Gabriel promised with another kiss.

The last time he’d done this was with Jack, before everything went to shit, and for some reason he felt like he had to make this as good as possible for him now. He didn’t want to assume, but Gabriel figured that it had been just as long for Jack as well. He would just have to make this as gentle and slow as possible.

Gabriel went on as before, peppering soft kisses along Jack’s shoulders and only stopping in his touch to scoop up more of the salve, deciding that it didn’t matter if he used it all up if only it meant things went smoother later. Jack didn’t beg or talk at all, much unlike the breathless babble Gabriel was used to. He was breathing softly, occasionally groaning in pleasure and grinding against the soft bedding to get some friction against his cock, crying out when Gabriel’s fingers ghosted over his sweet spot. The tent grew warmer by the minute, leaving Gabriel breathless and the skin where they were touching grew slick with a sheen of sweat.

Despite his attempt to drag this out for as long as possible Gabriel eventually felt his patience run thin and his hand lose its rhythm. He hadn’t touched his own cock yet, and by now the soft moans coming from Jack and the sight of him was starting to affect Gabriel, making the neglect near painful. Right now he wanted nothing more than to wrap his arms around Jack and sink into him to feel him as close as possible.

“Do you still want to fuck,” he asked, now a little breathless himself. “We don’t have to do it like that if you’re not up for it but-“

Jack managed a half hearted glare.

“Get your cock in me,” he demanded, tone surprisingly even and commanding. And who was Gabriel to deny him when he was being like that.

Another scoop of the salve and Gabriel finally curled his hand around his cock with a pleased hiss. He forced himself to be slow as he coated it with the lubricant, reminding himself that he would be no use to Jack if he came too early anyway.

“Ready?”

Jack nodded, lips parted, before turning away and pressing his forehead against his folded arms.

Gabriel braced one hand against Jack’s shoulder, the other guiding his cock to Jack’s entrance. For a moment he just teased at it, breath hitching at the realization that he was really doing this, that this was Jack underneath him and everything would be fine as long as they had each other and figured things out, that he was about to be as close to his old love as he could. Then he pushed, angling his hips forward slowly until the thick head of his cock pushed into Jack’s body.

They both cried out at the sensation, Jack tensing up briefly and Gabriel squeezing his eyes shut to regain his composure. He felt weirdly lightheaded as he rubbed soothing circles over Jack’s arms, thrusting shallowly and deepening his movements bit by bit, agonizingly slow until finally he was fully sheathed in Jack and let his body drop down to press against the curve of Jack’s back.

Gabriel trembled as he tried not to move, just keeping the position and feeling the overwhelming sensation of heat around his cock and against his chest, arms wrapped tight around Jack’s torso in turn. He vaguely noticed Jack clenching and unclenching his hands as his nails scraped over blankets before pressing his face against the back of Jack’s head, burying his nose into soft messy hair.

“You good?” Gabriel asked after a while, slightly muffled by hair and not quite sure if he himself was ‘good’ given the situation and how everything felt like it was too much, too hot, too good-

Jack somehow managed to nod as he canted his hips up to try and get Gabriel to push deeper.

“Come on, move, Gabe, please,” he groaned, and Gabriel planted a kiss to the back of his head before bracing his elbows on either side of Jack’s shoulders and started thrusting his hips.

At first his pace was shallow and slow, half afraid to do something wrong and jostle Jack too much, and half worried that he’d finish too soon or that he’d forgotten how to even go about having sex properly. The emotional whirlwind of having Jack back and not having even having much of a desire to fuck anyone for years made for a tricky combination, leaving Gabriel to feel like he had to get this right.

Once he figured that he wouldn’t come from a few snaps of his hips, and that Jack’s damaged side wasn’t in any danger unless Gabriel were to grab it he did pick up the pace. Long deliberate movements had him pull out as much as he could without moving too far away from touching Jack all over, and thrusting back into the perfect heat of Jack’s body firmly. Each motion had Jack moving with it, letting Gabriel guide him easily. His groans were like music to Gabriel’s ears, providing the incentive to try and hit all the right spots for him just to hear that rough voice break in a moan.

Gabriel closed his eyes and leaned his forehead against Jack’s back, losing himself in the sensations. His breathing was ragged and he felt sweat bead on his temples. He was drunk on the feeling of heat against his skin and the beautiful noises Jack was making, the warmth around him from the healing magic in the tent and the tight slick heat around his cock making his head spin. It took him a few moments to register how Jack was twisting under him weirdly, propping himself up on his elbow and sinking back down before turning a little and giving that up as well.

“Gabe, stop- ah. Just a moment-“

Immediately Gabriel stopped in his rhythmic movements and leaned back to stare at Jack and try and see what had caused the hint of distress he registered in his voice. Jack reached back to push against Gabriel for a moment, before sliding up against the bedding.

“Jackie? Did I hurt you?” he asked with his hand hovering over Jack’s injured side worriedly.

“No just-“ Jack moved off Gabriel’s cock, causing him to hiss at the loss of heat around it.

Jack twisted around so he was lying on his back and then reached up to cup Gabriel’s face in his rough hands. He looked weirdly embarrassed as he pulled Gabriel down for a needy kiss before speaking again.

“Like this. Fuck me like this, please?”

Gabriel forgot how to speak for a few moments with Jack’s face so close, and then leaned down to kiss it everywhere he could reach.

“Of course, yeah- fuck, yeah lets.”

To save himself from more incoherent babbling Gabriel kissed Jack deeply and grabbed his cock to guide it back into Jack’s hole.

Like this was different, and definitely better. He could see each twitch on Jack’s beautiful face, every parting of the lips as his breath hitched and his eyes fluttered shut. If this were any other time, like back when they were still as young and foolish as they’d been once, Gabriel would have grabbed Jack’s legs to hook them over his shoulders to fuck him hard and deep while he kissed the cries from his lips. Now Gabriel just wrapped his arms around Jack’s shoulders as Jack did the same, and then crossed his ankles at the small of Gabriel’s back to be comfortable and not jostle each other’s injuries too much.

It was perfect just as they were, even if Jack clung so hard to Gabriel that it became difficult to thrust up into him hard enough with his hips trapped by strong legs. Jack’s cock rubbed against Gabriel’s stomach, smearing slick against both their skins, providing a delicious friction for them both. 

Gabriel felt like he was in a daze as he watched Jack’s face move beneath him. His eyelashes were fluttering over his pale cheeks, mouth open and inviting to kiss, the prettiest flush spread over his cheeks and ears and down Jack’s neck. He looked positively angelic when his perpetual frown melted away into bliss. 

That thought pushed a sharp needle thin pang of pain through Gabriel’s enjoyment of the situation. He was fairly confident that Jack cared for him now, that he knew he wouldn’t go off and summon armies of the undead or whatever else people thought death magic was good for. But he didn’t know what Jack thought of it in general. Was he merely tolerating it?

His magic was so deeply entwined with how Gabriel saw himself, was at the core of who he was, and he wasn’t sure if he wanted to deal with the suspicion that Jack was repulsed by something so integral to him at all. Not again at least.

Before he even completed the action Gabriel knew he shouldn’t be doing something so stupid when he was buried so deep in his old lover, right in the middle of an amazing fuck. Invisible to the naked eye Gabriel’s magic flowed over the edges of his body, surrounding him like a warm cocoon of energy. Tendrils twisted up and coiled close to Gabriel’s body, reaching and twitching back like the anemones off the shore he’d seen once.

Gabriel wrapped his arms closer around Jack’s body, before allowing the tendrils of magic to reach out just far enough to barely brush over heated skin.

Jack’s reaction was immediate. His entire body twitched, making him clench around Gabriel’s cock hard enough to pull out a hiss from the older mage’s lips. Jack stared up at Gabriel for a few shocked heartbeats, before he threw his head back and laughed.

An attempt to ask why he’d reacted that way was cut short as Gabriel felt a zap of electricity against his skin, causing him to yelp.

“You really wanna play like that?” Jack asked, letting more of his magic brush against Gabriel, each touch a tiny shock less intense than the first.

The look on his face was one of utter adoration, and after the initial surprise he leaned into the touches of Gabriel’s magic just as much as that of his hands, enjoying the sensation as if there wasn’t anything strange about this at all.

Any worries he’d had before evaporated, burned away by the pleasant tingle of Jack’s magic against his skin and the sensation of touching Jack with his own. Gabriel pressed his lips to Jack’s again, kissing him hard as he picked up his pace. 

If Gabriel had worried about how long he would last before, the constant sparks against his skin and Jack’s moans whenever a tendril of Gabriel’s magic nudged against him just threw him closer to the edge. With some presence of mind he managed to command his magic to focus their gentle caress on Jack’s cock, unwilling to let himself orgasm while Jack might not be close to. Jack let out a chocked groan at the sensation or energy against him, and within seconds he was arching up against Gabriel, fingers digging in deep where they could reach as he came.

Come splattered over both their stomachs, the way Jack clenched around his cock too much to handle. Gabriel whined as he felt his own orgasm build up, and he pressed his face against Jack’s chest as his vision blanked out and it washed over him.

Gabriel could feel Jack’s heartbeat against his lips, his palms, thrumming through his body and matching his own heart perfectly in its rhythm. Their breathing was ragged enough to drown out the torrential downfall happening outside, neither of them inclined to bother worrying about it. They were safe and warm there, and Jack’s hands started to pet at Gabriel’s hair shakily, his blunt nails scratching against his scalp soothingly.

With some reluctance Gabriel braced himself against the ground to lean up, but not before pressing a kiss to the chest in front of him. As he rose he realized that the field of healing had gone out by now, only leaving behind a faint glow that no longer held any magic. He hadn’t noticed the moment it stopped, with how caught up he’d been in the sensations of Jack underneath him. Now he could barely make out Jack’s face in the dark. Gabriel could see just enough to be sure that Jack was smiling up at him with half lidded eyes.

Jack pulled Gabriel right back down, kissing him deeply and sighing against his lips. They rolled over carefully, lying on their sides without breaking the kiss until Gabriel managed to pull away just enough to slip his softening cock out, earning him a disappointed grumble.

Much as he wanted to stay in Jack’s embrace, the sticky feeling of their sweat and come started to bother Gabriel. He pulled away fully, grabbing one of the thinner blankets and splashing some water on it, which he impatiently heated up with his will. As he settled back down Jack ignited their lamp, allowing Gabriel to take in the view of his thoroughly dishevelled and well fucked lover.

“Hello gorgeous,” he teased as he ran the makeshift towel over Jack’s abdomen, deciding to chivalrously take care of him first before cleaning himself up.

Jack hummed low in his throat as he spread his legs a little to allow Gabriel to wipe between his thighs as well. He reached out to pet Gabriel’s chest as he let himself be taken care of, smiling in a way that made him look decades younger. When Gabriel was finally done with both of them he tossed the used blanket aside, figuring that it wasn’t needed anyway if he and Jack would share the remaining ones together.

By the time he crawled in with Jack under the blankets and cuddled up to him Gabriel felt ready to fall asleep, bone deep relaxation taking its hold of him. He curled his arms around Jack’s waist as Jack ran his fingers over Gabriel’s scars as he’d done so many times before.

“I wish we could just ignore everything outside this tent and stay here forever,” Jack whispered after a while.

Gabriel was too sleepy to notice the melancholic undertone in Jack’s voice immediately, and it took him a few moments more to understand what he meant specifically.

“We have to go as soon as we’re both able to,” he replied, feeling his heart clench at the sight of Jack’s pained expression.

“If we nearly died because of some demons I really don’t want to risk losing you to… whatever messed up thing could ruin the Wind.”

Gabriel shook his head sadly.

“You’re not one to skirt duties.”

Jack frowned as he stared at Gabriel’s lips.

“Maybe I want to be selfish for once.”

For a few seconds Gabriel seriously considered it. They could pack their things and run away, could settle down somewhere and let somebody else handle things. It wasn’t like they had an actual obligation to do anything right now, nobody had paid them to go on a quest or done more than promise a reward. But there was no guarantee that things would be fine. Gabriel knew he wouldn’t be able to settle down peacefully feeling that something was wrong, and if the Wind didn’t return things would only worsen and make him antsier in turn. And he knew that Jack would feel the same, no matter how much he wished he could just leave. It wasn’t in either of their natures to back out of something like this, especially not so close to their goal.

“We won’t die,” Gabriel said and kissed Jack’s brow where his scar cut through his face. “I promise we’ll go find a nice place to be once this is done. We’re together now, we can do anything together. You know nothing can actually withstand our combined effort.”

Jack sighed and hid his face against Gabriel’s neck.

“You’re right,” he said, sounding as if he was trying to convince himself more than anything. “I’m glad we’re in this together.”

Gabriel managed a small smile as he held on to Jack until his breathing evened out and he relaxed in Gabriel’s hold. He fought of the sense of unease as he stared at the small lamp that was their only source of light, and quietly prayed that this was the one promise he could keep.


	8. Rotten Ground

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> there's a tiny bit of smut at the start of the chapter

The next morning started with golden hair tickling Gabriel’s face and Jack’s cheek pressed against his chest, right over his heart. It was the sweetest sensation tainted by just a drop of bitterness at not getting to wake up to this every single day for years due to his own foolishness. Somewhere underneath that there was also fear, but Gabriel pushed it aside in favour of running his hands over Jack’s bare shoulder to play with the spikes of hair that stood out in every direction.

It didn’t take long for Jack to stir, always a light sleeper no matter how comfortable it was or how exhausting the previous day had been. He groaned quietly and rubbed his nose against Gabriel’s chest, stretching and pressing their bodies together in the process as he chased the warmth. Gabriel could tell the second Jack realized where he was as he tensed and his breath hitched audibly in the quiet of the tent.

“Morning, sunshine,” Gabriel greeted him as Jack finally raised his head enough to look up at him.

He stilled as Jack stared, ignoring the uncomfortable bend of his neck he had to keep up to meet Jack’s eye. Then Jack let out a sigh and dropped his face back against Gabriel’s chest as if to hide.

“Worried I had an especially pathetic dream again,” he confessed, slightly muffled.

Gabriel tightened his hold.

“I’d call it a nice dream honestly.”

“That’d be true too,” Jack replied, looking back up again with the sort of smile that used to make Gabriel feel like he was melting under the warmth of it. Not that much had changed since their youth apparently.

He scooted up along Gabriel’s body just enough for a soft kiss, familiar and intimate in a way that Gabriel hadn’t even known to miss. They stayed like that for a while, kissing and touching idly, with Gabriel’s hands running over Jack’s back and Jack pressing his fingers against the other’s chest. There was no heat in that, both just chasing the warm intimacy of getting to be together with nothing else mattering for the moment.

Finally Gabriel found just enough willpower to pull away from Jack, sighing and squeezing his eyes shut to not see the pout on his lover’s face. Prying Jack off his body and pressing him back down onto their bedding was even harder, tempting Gabriel to kiss him some more again, but eventually he managed.

“We should eat something,” he said once he was safely out of kissing reach. “I’ll make us something, you check on your injuries.”

Jack huffed but let Gabriel go eventually, sitting up just enough to do as he was told. Gabriel left him to it as he kneeled down to search through his pack, thinking of what to make. It’d be fine for Jack to eat something better than broth, now that he didn’t have a fever anymore, and if he’d actually enjoyed it Gabriel would have parted with some of his ground cocoa for him. Instead he found some half crumbled up nut cakes in the depths of his pack, deciding that even something dry was good enough if it was sweet.

He heard shuffling and a whistle when he finally got the tiny indoor fire started to also cook up some oatmeal. A glance back showed Jack, propped up on his elbow and grinning.

“I’m getting breakfast in bed _and_ a lovely view? Is it my birthday?”

Gabriel took a few seconds to realize that he was still very much undressed, and that Jack’s gaze was on his thighs and arse. He groaned and returned his attention to the oatmeal.

“It’s your day of being too crippled and sick to get decent for.”

Jack’s laugh was rough and beautiful, and Gabriel was glad he was facing away as his cheeks flushed with pleasure.

Once the breakfast was cooked Gabriel shovelled an impressive portion into a bowl and topped it off with the nut cakes. Jack never minded if something was flattened or dry or anything like that, always ignoring the state of food if it was still good, and indeed, the second he laid eyes on the cakes he shoved one into his mouth and moaned in pleasure as if it was something fresh out of the oven.

They ate in comfortable silence, both too hungry to care about anything besides their meals. Despite his best attempts to wolf down everything as quick as humanly possible, Jack was still eating when Gabriel put away his bowl, smirking at Jack’s annoyed expression. Why this had to be a competition, he wasn’t sure, but anything felt weirdly nice with Jack now.

“You gave me way too much,” Jack said once he was done as well. “And don’t say it’s because I need to gather my strength or anything.”

Gabriel shrugged as he put away Jack’s bowl as well, before taking a few bandages from his own pack. It wouldn’t do to have Jack lose his own supplies too soon, in case they got separated for whatever reason. He had taken care of most of his injuries in the time Gabriel cooked, but the main one still needed new dressing.

“Here, let me help you with that.”

Jack sighed but settled down more comfortably to allow Gabriel an easier access to his side. They removed his old bandages together, and Jack examined his side carefully before applying some more healing creams. The wounds were nearly completely healed, and might not even leave much scarring with how quick Jack had gotten to take care of the injury. When he was done Gabriel gently wrapped the new bandages around his torso, making sure that it was comfortable and brushing his fingers over undamaged skin soothingly.

“We should wait another day before moving on,” Jack said when Gabriel fastened the new binding in place, facing away from him.

Gabriel looked up at the back of Jack’s head as he considered this silently. Usually Jack would be the first to insist they could move on, or at least get anxious to get well as quickly as possible to do so. The injuries weren’t too much of a pain anymore, and honestly they could just pack up and go. But if they couldn’t, if Jack had to rest and heal just one more day, it would mean one more day of safety and nothing but each other-

“Yes, rest up properly for once,” Gabriel replied, and squeezed Jack’s arm with a smile.

Neither of them commented on that decision any further, with Jack lying back and tugging at the blankets to make room for Gabriel to join him. It was getting a little cool just sitting around in the tent naked, so he gladly crawled into bed with Jack to chase the warmth. 

They stayed like that, not bothering to light any lamps besides the tiny contained fire, basking in each other’s presence and talking quietly about this and that. Jack described a few instances of chasing some crooks trying pass off regular bird bones as those of dragons for prices way higher than even those would warrant, and Gabriel mostly mentioned his travels through places he’d like to take Jack some time. They didn’t mention what was to come at all, both content to ignore the most pressing task at hand.

At one point the rain stopped so Gabriel reluctantly got dressed and walked out to collect some more water, feeling like doing so manually was still less of an effort than conjuring some more up. Jack complained about this, but used the opportunity to restock his emergency healing supplies, finishing just a little after Gabriel returned. Despite the clear mountain air after rain doing wonders for any residual tenseness, Gabriel didn’t linger outside anyway, the need to catch up on time with Jack much greater than his wish to be alone and appreciate the twist of fate that had brought them both back together.

Jack somehow didn’t find it necessary to get dressed at all, merely smirking when Gabriel pointed out that he hadn’t done so yet. It would have been strange to keep a nude man company while fully dressed, so Gabriel relented by taking off his clothes once more and returning to their makeshift bed. If they were going to stay for an additional day, they might as well stay in bed as well.

Though Gabriel was too exhausted for much activity, their soft kisses and touches eventually turned more heated as Gabriel slid down along Jack’s body to blow him lazily. Another thing he hadn’t thought he missed until he finally got a taste again. As he bobbed his head while taking in as much of Jack’s cock as was comfortable he listened for each hitch of breath, each groan, drinking them all in.

After a while of nothing but the slick sound of Gabriel’s mouth and Jack’s harsh breathing, Jack reached out to curl his hand over Gabriel’s head. Not pressing down or doing anything, just keeping it there and occasionally scratching his blunt nails over Gabriel’s scalp. It sent shivers of delight down Gabriel’s spine, and he briefly wondered if it would have felt better for his hair to be longer so Jack could tug at it. Perhaps he could grow it out again just to try that out.

A brief tightening of Jack’s stomach and a clench of his fingers was all the signs Gabriel got before Jack came, groaning and relaxing immediately as Gabriel licked up his seed. He didn’t complain when Gabriel scooted up to lie at his side to be in kissing reach either, just thanking him for the nice service. It was, Gabriel decided, truly the most unexpected course of events that had led him to lying in bed with his former lover turned enemy turned lover again.

“Lets settle down somewhere once this is over,” Gabriel told Jack once he pulled the covers up to both their shoulders and nestled his head against Jack’s chest. “I’ve had enough of adventuring and wandering around with random beasts all over the place trying to get to me. I want to rest and be lazy about things. At least for a little while.”

Jack chuckled, his fingers finding their way into Gabriel’s hair once again as he stroked it with lazy motions.

“Bet you we will barely last a year before we will want to go on just one more tiny adventure.”

Gabriel smirked but didn’t contradict that statement. Honestly, he couldn’t decide what he would prefer right now; a nice little cottage far from any large city and a cosy home with Jack, or wandering the world with him at his back, sharing their love for the wide open sky once again.

After a while Jack’s hand stilled.

“Lets not go to Zarrbar though. I want to live far away from there.”

Gabriel raised his head just enough to look down at Jack with a raised brow.

“But this is your home? I’d have thought you’d like to be in familiar regions again.”

Jack frowned as he shook his head.

“I don’t want to be back there anymore. Last time we lived there I let my judgement get the better of me. I know how those lands are like, I made mistakes based on old fears of consequences, of punishment for things that have harmed people there once but barely matter anymore. Honestly, between the lonely fields of my childhood and the memory of my mistakes I wouldn’t want to set foot there anytime soon.”

Gabriel didn’t reply to that, simply watching as Jack’s face twisted out of his relaxed bliss into sorrow. Put like that, he figured he wouldn’t want to return either.

“We’ll get some nice reward for this,” he said after a while, waving his hand vaguely to indicate the quest they were on. “We can go wherever you like, sunshine.”

Just like that the sorrow melted from Jack’s features as he smiled up at his lover.

“Any small village would be nice honestly, I doubt I’d have the patience to be master of some fancy house. Aleon is nice near the great rivers. Or maybe Marraclei? I’d love to see the region you grew up in.”

“You’d be bored there.”

“Let me decide that once I see it.”

Gabriel shook his head and lowered it to rest his cheek against Jack’s chest again, hiding his smile. He really did not think that Marid’s Roost was worth looking at, but somehow the thought of Jack getting to see the streets he was so familiar with was more than just a little pleasing.

“Anything you want,” he promised, knowing that he had no guarantee of keeping it, but feeling that his stubbornness would come in handy at least.

 

*

Eventually the morning arrived, and there was no way to stall any further without openly admitting to the real reason of not moving on with their quest. The shock of nearly being ripped apart by demons was melting away steadily the longer Gabriel was in Jack’s presence, and after a while he started to figure that getting their task over and done with would lead to them having more time to relax and do nothing in each other’s presence sooner. They’d go deal with the Wind or find some way for others to fix it easily, and then Gabriel would drag Jack home to introduce him to his parents.

Jack checked both their wounds sustained in their fight against the demons, deeming them healed enough to only hurt if they happened to be hit in the exact spot. They packed their bags, folded up the tent, and set out on their way.

The air still smelled of rain and a crisp chill was felt, but nothing like the icy presence of demons. Just as a precaution they delayed their travel for long enough for Gabriel to set up a quick scrying spell to check for anything nasty in the area as Jack watched over him, but all he could sense was a strange dissonant note to the arcane energies of the area, swallowing up any attempt at focusing on anything else. It was similar to what Gabriel had started to feel everywhere ever since the Wind had stopped clearing out the continent’s energies, amplified to a magnitude that nearly felt as if he could hear it ring in his ears. A contrast to the fresh scents of damp earth and wet grass that hung in the air otherwise.

The walk was smooth enough that Gabriel could keep his need to keep an eye out for wounded comrades in check, knowing full well that Jack was fine. It didn’t stop him from walking entirely too close compared to the past days of travel. Though the path was incredibly steep, the rocks also became increasingly less jagged, and more often than not Gabriel felt as if they were walking on an ancient path that had been carved by generations of pilgrims to the Source. There were some signs of disturbance, with larger boulders lying here and there, shattered from the earthquake rumbles in the mountains perhaps. Occasionally Jack would poke both those and the path ahead with his staff to make sure there was no trace of magic on them and to check their stability, but nothing unusual was to be found about any of it.

Higher and higher they went, until the near smooth mountainside started to become steeper at a quick rate. As Gabriel looked up at the tops of the rocks, he felt like he was an ant looking at a magnificent crown, with ragged and curved points of rock reaching up high towards the dark grey clouds. This was the very centre of what people called the Cradle, the very centre of where the Wind was supposed to spring from. Unless the terrain had changed dramatically, the rock curved back down on the other side of the points, forming a bowl shaped valley where their destination lay.

“You think we’re supposed to climb up and over those?” he asked Jack as they came to a halt, their path no longer easy to walk on at all.

Jack frowned as he surveyed the nearest rocks. He was reasonably good at climbing, but Gabriel thought that this might be a little too much, judging by Jack’s increasingly miffed expression.

“Lets walk around, maybe there’s some entrance of sorts,” he suggested after giving up on finding good climbing spots. “I can’t imagine people used to get to the Wind while climbing. There used to be old people in those groups, and random stuff they carried along. If there were pilgrimages there must be an easy entrance.”

Gabriel shrugged and agreed, not willing to struggle up the rocks himself either. They set out, Gabriel keeping his gaze at the surroundings with occasional glances to the sky, wondering if the clouds looked so dark with a promise of more rain, or whether this was part of the magic of this place, while Jack kept his staff close to the rocks as if looking for a hidden passage.

There wasn’t any, and after passing some cracks in the rock here and there Gabriel finally shrugged again.

“This is probably as good a way to get to the centre as any,” he said, as Jack frowned but hummed in agreement. It was similar to the place they had gotten ambushed at before, but Gabriel figured that they might as well risk it.

He took out his knives to be able to defend himself better should something attack, and stepped forwards into the narrow break in the rock, Jack following closely behind at his back. It was a tight squeeze in places, and occasionally the path would fork in two or twist back and forth. After a while the sound of their footsteps changed, becoming slightly muffled and Gabriel paused for long enough to test his footing. Damp grass rustled under his boots, and slowly the rock gave way to soft soil.

First the rock on either side of them started to get lower, and then Gabriel saw the path widening up ahead. Only a few moments more and he was free of the crevice in the rock, raising his arms to ready himself for an attack as he took everything in.

He hadn’t expected a sight so peaceful. The Cradle lay before them, a enormous shallow crater with broad natural terraces encircling it in semi circles, forming something akin to steps leading to the main field below. Everything was a beautiful lush green, with trickles of water being heard here and there, and trees growing at the edges of the crater, their foliage looking more like it ought to during late spring. Twisted trunks wound their way all over the place, overgrown by moss and strangely shaped ferns, none of which showed any sign of sickness or the strange discolouration Gabriel had observed in the rocks outside of the Cradle.

“This is the Source,” Jack breathed out, stepping from behind Gabriel with his staff in a relaxed grip, still ready to wield it at a moment’s notice. “It looks so… healthy.”

They stood still for a while, surveying the area and trying to listen for a sound that ought to be out of place. There wasn’t anything off about the area, Gabriel thought, other than the dissonant strum of energy that covered this part of the mountains. The plants all around them were obviously thriving, and other than the layer of clouds making everything look like a well-illuminated cave, Gabriel didn’t see anything that could explain why the Wind was gone.

“What exactly is the specific source here?” he asked after a while, looking to Jack for answers and receiving a shrug. “The Wind has to spring from some exact spot after all.”

Carefully, with their weapons raised, both started to make their way towards the edge of the crater. The terraces were just high enough that leaping down was nearly uncomfortable, but Gabriel refused to put away his knives to actually climb such a short distance. With each level they took towards the middle of the Cradle Gabriel felt like he was lost in some ancient forest and was exploring a clearing, rather than being somewhere deep in the mountains.

Jack was the one to spot the trunk that wound up in a strange twisted way, standing on the lowest level of the crater and resembling a pedestal. At first Gabriel wasn’t sure what made it special, other than the way several vines and dried leafs twisted at its top in an oval shape, but then he spotted the occasional burst of golden dust leaking through the gaps of those. It stood about two thirds of the way from where the two had entered the Cradle to the opposite site, and as far as Gabriel could see there wasn’t any other structure just like that.

Ever cautious they made their way towards it, both trying their best to try and spot any sort of danger. Gabriel couldn’t feel any demonic presence, and the air was thick with the smell of moss and plants. Nothing seemed off about the area on a superficial level, and only the arcane dissonance continued to put him on edge.

Once they reached the pedestal they found it to be about waist high, with the orb of vines and leaves rising just a little higher than them. Gabriel was the first one to reach out for it, deciding that magic wouldn’t help with the examination anyway. Jack clutched his staff tensely as he watched Gabriel put away his knives to push apart some of the thinner vines, careful not to snap them, and worked apart the wilted leaves.

Sparks of gold greeted him as he disturbed the orb, falling down like pollen and finally revealing the faint glow at the centre. Gabriel frowned as he looked at the thing inside. It was shaped like a cocoon of some strange type of moth, with a solid case of what looked to be tree sap covering the shining surface. Jack was the first to reach out to touch it, carefully probing the smooth surface.

“Feels like amber,” he commented, pushing in deeper to see how much give the surface had. Unlike the precious material this stuff was clouded over and barely allowed for a proper glimpse of what was inside. Only the strange glow coming from within allowed them to see that something was indeed inside, and the faintest tremble of shadow made Gabriel think of a tiny fledgling curled up in their egg.

Placing his hand next to Jack’s Gabriel tried to get a feel for the thing as well, focusing on discerning the arcane energies coming directly from within, rather than the surrounding area. The amber was cool to the touch, only barely giving under his pressing fingers like just hardened sap, and strange pulsing waves of warmth brushed against Gabriel’s skin, at the very edge of his perception. They were faint, combined with a sense of exhaustion that wasn’t his own, and yet something about that sensation was invigorating.

“Jack,” he called for his partner slowly, reluctant to pull his fingers away from the amber and to voice the suspicion in his mind, still not entirely sure whether his assumption was right. “Jack, I think this is it. This… whatever it is, this is the Wind.”

Jack gave him a sharp look before squinting at the orb again.

“How can this be the Wind…?”

Gabriel shrugged helplessly, unsure of how to explain.

“I don’t know?”

“It’s so small.”

Jack frowned, still unconvinced and only Gabriel’s stubbornness kept him from dismissing the thought as well.

“The Wind isn’t really described anywhere, is it? It’s either a magnificent presence or a being that can’t be seen or grasped. But what if its essence can take some sort of shape?”

They stared at the amber again, watching as something inside it pulsed with a faint light, letting the softly glowing golden dust detach from the surface and rain down gently. If the Wind was a being of arcane energy, then it could take a shape like this perhaps. What it was never got recorded clearly in any way that Gabriel found useful to discerning what it was precisely, any source only describing the Wind’s powers, with anything that might give a hint at its appearance being composed as poems and songs, and those couldn’t be trusted to be accurate.

“Lets say that _is_ the Wind after all,” Gabriel said, pacing around it once to see if there was anything else noteworthy about it. “Perhaps it’s retreated in a cocoon because something is wrong and it needs to rest and gather its powers? Who knows how these things function.”

“Or it’s trapped,” Jack replied, tapping his fingers against the smooth surface of the orb. “Why would it do something like that when this has never happened in recorded history? There’s got to be something actively preventing it from doing the things it does.”

Jack let his hand drop to his side and turned away from the orb to look around. His attention was on the plants and old gnarly wood all around, and Gabriel turned to follow his gaze. He could see nothing wrong with the area, given that he didn’t know what to compare it to or what the Wind was supposed to be surrounded by. He waited as Jack touched his staff to some of the ferns grown nearby, and then paused.

“Strange that everything here is so lush when the Wind is suffering like that,” he said, and Gabriel hummed in agreement.

“There’s none of the weird discoloured rock in the Cradle either,” Gabriel added, looking to where the plants hadn’t taken over yet. “I supposed I would have expected this area to look sicker than anything we’ve come across yet.”

Jack took a few steps away from the source, still brushing his staff against the plants and frowning deeply.

“I can’t really decide what to think of this,” he said, and at Gabriel’s questioning look he shrugged. “I don’t know what sort of plants are supposed to be growing here, or how much the Wind’s magic is supposed to change the environment. Something’s _wrong_ but I can’t tell if it’s a symptom or the cause.”

He walked on carefully, taking his time to stare down the various plants as if they would tell him their secrets if he just looked angry enough.

“No insects or animals either,” Gabriel added, and Jack muttered something under his breath as he poked the end of his staff against a piece of wood.

As Jack proceeded to move further and further away from the orb Gabriel stuck to his side. They paused for Jack to crouch down and ram his staff into the damp soil, focused on whatever the energy of the area could tell him. Gabriel had already used up his preferred methods of scouting out a place, so he turned to look back at what they both figured was the very origin of the Wind.

From the slight distance he couldn’t see the faint pulsing light anymore. For a brief moment Gabriel felt as if it was reaching out to him, glowing brighter for just a second, and he felt as if he had somehow let the thing inside that cocoon down for not figuring out how to help, for turning his back.

A sudden shift in the ground nearly made Gabriel lose his footing, sending him stumbling backwards and hitting Jack on the way. He could barely catch himself against Jack’s shoulder, holding on to him in an attempt to keep himself from falling down. Jack tightened his hold on his staff, bracing back against Gabriel to try and offer him some more stability.

For just a moment Gabriel thought that maybe this was just another of those strange earthquakes that had happened occasionally, just stronger. Then he realized that the movements of the ground below him where different, smother and stronger somehow. And it was just the ground that moved, from what he could tell the mountains around them were still.

He spun around to take hold of Jack’s staff, still sticking into the soil, just in time to see how waves of motion were running over the ground all around them. Ferns trembled and the twisted wooden roots and stumps creaked with it, moving and shifting as if something was pushing at them specifically, as if the ground was breathing and made them move like ribs.

Gabriel felt his hands buzz with nervous energy as he tried to position himself to be ready for a fight without losing his balance. He couldn’t tell whether there was a threat, or where it would come from at all, not with the entire ground shifting like that. A brief glance back towards the amber orb containing the Wind’s source only confirmed that the ground was moving, as the small pedestal like thing it was on seemed to be the only spot spared from the strange shifting.

Then, with a lurch, the ground shook and Gabriel felt his stomach drop as the earth twitched and rose up into the air. His first instinct was to try and leap to the side, off from whatever was doing this, but the entire area around the pedestal was rising, too large to just jump off from it quickly. With that option gone Gabriel instead clung to Jack harder, both of them tense as they tried to hold on.

The tree stumps started to shift like snakes, dipping in and out of the soil, but thankfully not coming closer. Gabriel was tempted to set everything around him ablaze, but he was hesitating to do something so drastic while unsure of the potential consequences. He did try to keep an eye on the mountains around them, trying to judge how high they were rising. First it was just a few feet, and then quickly going up to three yards, then five, and then Gabriel thought they must be at least four storeys above where they had started their ascent.

A strange growl like rumble shook the ground as the upwards motion stopped. The giant portion of ground that had risen so high started twitching, stretching, unfurling from a more round shape into a more oval one, with several parts starting to protrude away from the main body of soil, looking as if they had been folded underneath.

For a second Gabriel was sure that they would be thrown off as the thing they were on shook again, but instead it just bent so that it ended up placing the two mages at the very top of a shallow floating hill. Wood cracked, and Gabriel watched as an elongated lump of earth at the furthest end of the floating soil rose into view, roughly twenty feet long and slightly flattened. It looked solid enough, with tiny bits of earth and plant matter raining down from its edges, but otherwise keeping its shape perfectly. It swung around slowly, until it was angled back towards where the two men waited for some kind of clue as to what was happening.

Jack’s hiss of horror summed up Gabriel’s own reaction perfectly as the thing before them split horizontally, opening up like a maw with rows upon rows of too sharp teeth. The soil cracked again, and all along its side five perfectly round holes opened, revealing glowing amber eyes with slit like pupils. All five were trained on the two mages.


	9. Falling, Rising

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> boss battle

Gabriel was paralyzed as he stared into the eyes of the creature that had risen from the ground, mind somehow not comprehending that he was indeed standing _on_ whatever this was. All five pupils on the side of its elongated head were trained on him, boring into his soul, and he found himself unwilling to follow through with any of the plans of action that were racing through his mind.

A tremor went through the ground- body of the creature that shook Gabriel’s bones. Before he could decide on what to do, Jack’s vice like grip was on his arms and the ground was knocked from under his feet as he felt the crack of Jack’s invisible wings unfurling. He didn’t have time to get out more than an undignified sound of protest before they were rising up and away from the thing beneath them.

Gabriel saw its eyes briefly following the sudden movement, before blinking and turning away from the mages. Jack didn’t pause as the attention of the creature was turned away from them, instead rising even higher and then making a dash for the edges of the bowl shaped mountains. For a moment Gabriel thought that he was about to flee entirely, but then Jack just found some outcrop on the walls of the Cradle that was big enough to stand on and dropped them down gently.

“Don’t do that,” Gabriel hissed quietly, but Jack’s attention was already focused on the creature before them, and honestly, Gabriel couldn’t waste time complaining about being manhandled through the air with the sight before him either.

Whatever the thing was, it was enormous, easily filling out the lowest section of the Cradle, and nearly two hundred feet from the tip of its snout to the end of its long tail. The head was elongated, with sharp teeth and five pairs of eyes, and a broad body that had three pairs of massive legs lazily swinging through the air. Based on its shape it reminded Gabriel of drawings of an alligator he’d once seen, though it looked like a strange twisted caricature with its body made of soil and plants and gnarled wood.

It moved easily through the air, slowly stretching and circling the edges of the crater of the Crown without any signs of anything wing like along its body. It did move its legs in slow pendulum like motions, though Gabriel wasn’t sure that those movements mattered to its actual flight. It was connected to the ground still, as some of the gnarly wooden protrusions stuck out from its body like roots from an upturned tree, reaching towards the ground and occasionally burrowing deep into the soil. Some tore as the creature moved along, and some of the wood that was still on the ground reached up to fluidly connect to free bits of root, making sure that the creature was always connected to the actual ground in some way, though they didn’t look like they were propping it up for its flight.

The two sat motionlessly as they watched the creature circle the air lazily, not looking as if it was doing anything in particular. Sometimes one of its eyes would look towards the mages, though it brushed over them like they were just part of the scenery.

“Do you have any clue about what that thing is?” Jack asked after a while.

“I honestly have no idea,” Gabriel replied, unable to tear his eyes away from the sight of the beast. 

It was unlike anything he’d ever seen or read about, not even coming close to things he could maybe compare it to. It was as massive as an earthen dragon might be, but those didn’t look like that creature and didn’t actually look like a lump of soil decided to take a walk one day either. It wasn’t demonic, as far as Gabriel could tell, as its elements didn’t look like they had been created in the depths of the Hells.

The thought of having to deal with something he knew nothing about made Gabriel feel uneasy. He needed to have some idea about the weaknesses of what he was taking on, an idea of how it moved and thought or what it was capable of. Recklessly throwing himself at danger and challenges just wasn’t how he dealt with unknowns.

They sat for a while longer, just watching the thing move around. It took about ten more minutes for the creature to actually do anything but circle the area lazily at all. For one moment it paused, before it rose up into the air, higher and higher until most of its body was standing up vertically. It paused there for a moment, hovering, and then it just dropped, hitting the mountains with so much force and speed that Gabriel nearly fell off the ledge he was on. Everything shook with the impact, making a low nearly pained rumbling sound. The creature repeated this again and again, making rocks crack and roll down the slopes of the Crown, and having the two mages scramble to keep their footing.

It took a few hits for Gabriel to notice that the roots connecting the creature to the earth tightened each time, as if they were pushing at the mountains from below as well. That explained the strange earthquakes he had felt for days prior, emphasizing just how powerful that beast before them was.

After a while the beast seemed to grow bored of that exercise, and idly returned to its previous circling motions.

“That explains that,” Jack muttered as he finally released his death grip on the rocks.

The creature meanwhile resumed its circles, though this time it started facing towards the middle of the Cradle, slowly closing in on the pedestal that now stood higher than before, with all of the soil having risen up to form the beast above. Gabriel watched as the creature started to float around the pedestal in circles as tight as its massive body allowed. All over the surface of the creature and below on the ground the roots started to move. The wood cracked and twisted as it dipped in and out of the soil like a giant serpent through water, closing in on the orb on the pedestal. Then, once everything was reaching towards it, the vines around the orb began to glow.

Horrified the mages could do nothing but watch as the faint glow of the Wind became a radiant light, flashing and sparking and emitting more of the golden dust, though every bit of it was sucked up into the roots around it. Gabriel could feel the dissonance all over the Cradle grow stronger, was sure that he could actually hear a pained terrified shriek coming from the amber orb as light ran from it and up the roots of the beast, until every bit of wood on its massive body was glowing with the faint glow. It had been years since Gabriel had last seen an arcane creature consume the energy of another, and never at such a scale, but he could tell that this was happening right in front of him now.

Jack’s invisible wings twitched anxiously as they hit against Gabriel’s back, and Gabriel felt an inch to summon fire at his hands to burn away the roots that were leeching the Wind like that. Again he felt as if the thing inside the orb was trying to speak, as if it was reaching out, begging to be saved, despairing at the way neither mage moved away to rush in for a daring rescue.

Neither of them moved for the solid minute the beast fed from the Wind’s energy, until its roots all glowed with an eerie green and gold light and it finally let go of the orb. For a few moments Gabriel was sure that the Wind’s cocoon had stopped glowing entirely, until the faintest shine returned to it, much weaker than before. The beast ignored this though, instead rising back up to resume its circles in the air, looking like an overfed cat.

Slowly Gabriel started to get a suspicion about what that thing was, after witnessing the way it fed and moved.

“I think I know what it is,” he told Jack, who reluctantly tore his eyes away from the creature before them to stare at Gabriel. “It might seem weird, but I think this is a Loroque.”

Jack’s brows shot up and he shook his head.

“But this thing is way too big. Not to mention that it’s not even in the right realm.”

Gabriel shrugged helplessly. Jack was right, of course, the creature the beast before them reminded him of was one of the realms of wild magic and fae, not much bigger than a large dog and its lizardlike body made of grass, reeds, and mud, held together by malicious dark magic. Loroque were small and skittish, feeding of arcane energies and tiny creatures that would mistake their bodies for normal soil but not strong enough to really be a bother for anyone who wandered through their area. The boldest might attack to defend their territory or to try and snatch some wisp of magic from mages or those who carried enchanted objects, but usually one could chase them away with a well placed kick.

The only times they could actually get dangerous was if someone with arcane energy was exhausted and in desperate need of rest, passing out too close to the tall grass and fern where a Loroque might hide. They could wrap their roots around the body of a sleeping mage, draining them quickly to seize the opportunity of a defenceless source of food. But then they never were strong enough to cause such exhaustion in a mage themselves, and the real harm came from their victim feeling even more exhausted and defenceless afterwards, unable to escape some other danger.

“Lets assume this is one for a moment,” Jack said after a few more moments of watching the creature move. “What is it doing in our dimension? They have never been observed to cross over on their own and they don’t survive for very long. How would this one have gotten here and grown to _this_ size.”

Gabriel shrugged again.

“They don’t survive because they don’t know how to tap into their food sources here. But if this one somehow crossed over in a rift… It would make sense, a place like the Source might be prone to tiny tears between dimensions, and a Loroque might be small enough to slip through unnoticed. Once it’s here it has a massive banquet of energy at its feet though, without any real competition either.”

Jack’s doubt was slowly melting off his expression, and his eyes widened.

“You think they could actually grow to such a size?”

“None of them had access to such an unlimited food source before. Look at it, it’s eating up enough energy to exhaust something that normally is felt over the entire continent. I would guess that it could grow as big as an island if we just left it here for long enough.”

The look Jack gave him corresponded perfectly to the unease Gabriel was feeling.

“So what do we do?”

They sat quietly as they considered the methods that would normally chase off a Loroque. Often they scurried away at a display of force, being too small to want to mess with anyone who could hold their ground. Spells that put a great pressure on their bodies sometimes caused them to crumble or lose limbs, and fire could sometimes burn them if they weren’t too damp and had enough plants on them. Both of these could be options for the beast before them, as scaring it away would likely not work. It certainly seemed aware of its massive size.

“I suppose we could _try_ just chasing it away. Nobody else was here to attempt that so why not.”

Both quickly shed their packs and useless equipment that could get in the way should they fight, dropping them carelessly to roll down the mountain slope. Jack rose to his feet, carefully balancing on the narrow outcrop of rock. He raised his staff into the air, and then swung it down like a hammer, hitting at nothing but producing a thunderous crack that echoed through the Cradle. Gabriel flinched at the noise, though he had been expecting it, and the Loroque turned its massive head towards the mages. It didn’t look angered, but it paused in mid air to observe the two men above it.

With its attention secured Jack placed a hand against his throat, letting it glow white and enchanting his voice to be understood.

“LEAVE,” he roared, volume enhanced by his magic and thundering through the crater with something uncanny laced through it. It made Gabriel want to run, and he actually knew what was happening.

“LEAVE THIS PLACE.”

The Loroque froze on the spot, its legs not moving anymore, eyes wide. Then, as Jack dropped his hand it opened its maw and let out a grinding sound that was less than a growl, but definitely not any indication for fear. It sounded… amused.

“I don’t think it’s working, Jackie,” Gabriel said as the Loroque turned its entire body around to face the two.

For a few moments the Loroque was moving towards them slowly, until it suddenly picked up speed, legs kicking quickly and roots shifting their position to match the neckbreak speed.

Jack let out a curse and Gabriel already knew to brace himself for being picked up and carried up into the air as fast as Jack’s wings allowed. Only a few moments later the Loroque crashed into the mountain below, making the very foundations of the Source groan under the onslaught.

The Loroque rose up from where it had crashed into slowly, swinging its massive head back and forth. Gabriel cook see how the impact had bent the alligator like snout out of shape, and before his eyes it rightened itself into its original shape as if nothing had happened. For a few seconds the beast searched for where the mages had gone, until all of its eyes snapped up to where they were hovering in the air. The eyes narrowed in what Gabriel would swear was a smile.

“Be ready to get us out of here,” he told Jack, wrapping his arms around his waist to make it easier to balance them in flight.

Below the Loroque didn’t make any attempts to rise up higher. Instead it started swaying lazily, and flipped over so that it’s massive underside was exposed and it floated belly side up. The roots that had connected it to the ground shifted as it did so, retreating or sliding along its body to protrude from its back instead, as if it didn’t matter where everything went as long as it retained its general shape.

For a split second Gabriel thought that the Loroque was just lazing around or taking it easy in observing its unwanted guests. That thought was dashed within seconds, as suddenly the wooden tendons of the Loroque’s body cracked, and roots shot up straight into the air like vicious cobras, snapping at the men above. Jack barely avoided being hit by them, swerving in a sharp loop to get out of the way. His panicked shout and the jostle that went through Gabriel’s body just showed how one of the roots had barely brushed past them.

The roots pulled back, twitching as they coiled up, just to whip up into the air again with a deafening crack. Over and over it lashed out like that, forcing Jack to zigzag through the air at as quick a pace as he could manage, narrowly avoiding each attack as he tried to rise higher and out of reach.

“You can’t do this forever,” Gabriel called out over the wind that was pulling at them with the force of Jack’s wings. The effort was starting to take its toll on him. “You can’t manoeuvre properly with a dead weight in your arms.”

Jack threw him a dirty look as he tried to shoot straight up into the air, his flight noticeably slowed by having to hold on to Gabriel and drag him along. At the very least they seemed to have gotten out of the Loroque’s range, hovering at dizzying heights above it. The beast’s maw was open, and Gabriel could swear the piece of shit was laughing at them.

“So what do you suggest?”

“You let me go-“

“No!”

“- let me finish! You let me go and we attack it from different sides. If I’m on foot I can use spells to avoid the roots while you distract it from above. I don’t care how many eyes it has, it can’t focus on us both at the same time, and it’s too big to be truly graceful in getting us.”

Jack paused for a moment.

“I’d like to try hitting it with all we’ve got first.”

“You want to see if you can smash it into pieces with brute force?”

“Why not? It works on the tiny ones, so enough power should do it for this overfed one too.”

It took some awkward shuffling for Jack to wrap his arm securely around Gabriel’s waist and for Gabriel to get a good hold on Jack’s shoulder without knocking down Jack’s staff, both of them now facing the Loroque. With each of them having one hand free they started focusing on a spell. It wasn’t a usual occasion to summon as much energy as he possibly could without releasing any of it, and without channelling that power into a spell, but Gabriel reached deep within his mind to muster the concentration. He could feel his hair stand on end as Jack did the same next to him.

As Gabriel focused on more and _more_ , creating a shivering black hole of energy, Jack’s electric force wrapped around it, pushing and compressing until sweat was beading on his temples from the effort to squeeze it all into as small a space as possible, trying to make the release even more destructive.

When the energy finally became too much and slipped from both their grasps Gabriel didn’t know how Jack could still hold on to him. That brief moment of exhaustion was burned away immediately. Like a black bolt of lightning their combined power burst out and shot straight down into the middle of the Loroque’s body, the deafening boom of the impact hitting them just a split second later.

The force of the impact sucked them down, before the actual release of the energy threw them up higher than Jack had managed to fly before, tossing them like a paper kite in a storm. It was all Gabriel could do to hold on.

Once he could hear again Gabriel noticed the promising crack of wood breaking apart, and a look over Jack’s shoulder confirmed their direct hit. The Loroque was screaming as it writhed in pain, a terrible grating sound. A split ran right across its belly, with big chunks of plant matter and soil falling away and dropping to the ground where wooden trunks feebly tried to keep the Loroque’s body together. Two legs and about two thirds of its torso were falling to the ground, while the beast itself was slowly drifting off course.

“It worked,” Jack wheezed out. “A few more well placed blows and this thing will crumble.”

Gabriel nodded once in agreement. They slowly started a descent, carefully to keep above where they knew the Loroque’s roots could reach.

Then, before either of them could prepare for another blast of energy, the roots below began to glow. Damaged ones turned pale grey and crumbled to the ground, but those that seemed to be more or less intact or connected to the ground emitted the same golden light Gabriel had seen when the beast had fed from the Wind.

“Oh for-“

The words weren’t even out of his mouth as the ground split with a burst of earth, and new roots shot up towards the Loroque. They carried chunks of soil, or quickly caught what was falling. Within moments they encased the Loroque, supporting it with more plant matter than before, and the beast was assembled to its previous size in a matter of seconds, limbs and all.

The Loroque twisted and stretched, snapping every last bit into place, and then its massive head turned towards the mages. This time its amber eyes looked like bloody lakes.

With incredible speed it snapped around, facing the men up in the air and with a growl it shot upwards.

“Jack, let go!” Gabriel hissed as Jack tightened his grip, wings beating to get them out of the way.

With a hand pushing at Jack’s face and a knee to the stomach Gabriel braced himself and pulled away from Jack. In an attempt to hold on to both his staff and Gabriel Jack lost his grip, and Gabriel kicked them apart and not a moment to soon. A second later the Loroque’s jaws snapped shut over where they’d been, eyes rolling widely as it tried to decide which way to turn.

Now, without being held down by an additional weight, Jack shot by fast as an arrow, swirling around the giant head and towards Gabriel. Within moments of his fall Gabriel was snatched out of the air, Jack’s arms around his chest in such a way that had him dangle down awkwardly.

“Are you out of your goddamn mind?” Jack hissed into Gabriel’s ear, nearly lost in the rush of wind.

“Na, I’m just saving our asses here, Jackie!”

Gabriel felt his body being pulled in every direction as Jack flew tight manoeuvres to avoid the Loroque’s line of vision. The beast turned and twisted as it tried to get a good look over its shoulder, snarling as it only caught glimpses with its many eyes.

“Drop me on its back!” he yelled over the wind, trying to angle his head so that Jack would hear.

“Why? You think it won’t immediately get you?”

“Worth a shot. I trust you to keep it busy.”

Jack’s hands squeezed at Gabriel’s chest once in confirmation. He shot straight down then, aiming for a stretch of Loroque back that was relatively free of roots and ferns, before letting go and immediately dashing back up into the Loroque’s line of sight. Gabriel braced himself for the impact, somehow managing to judge his contact with a moving surface perfectly and rolling into it. As soon as he stopped tumbling and regained his footing he drew his knives, calling forth a hellfire hot enough to ache against his skin despite the protection he could create against his own magic.

Above Jack did the same, swinging his staff in a wide arc and dragging flames behind him. Gabriel only looked for long enough to watch Jack throw a blazing ball of energy into the Loroque’s face. He had his own task.

Running as fast as he could Gabriel sliced at the plants before him, sending sparks flying in wide bursts. His fire spell set the ferns ablaze easily, and flames licked at the wooden veins of the Loroque’s body. He ran faster than the all-consuming fire, jumping when the Loroque twitched and sliding and ducking away from any whips of vines and roots.

He would worry about what would happen if the fire somehow spread onto the ground later, deciding that it didn’t matter what happened to the Cradle if the Loroque was allowed to nest there for much longer anyway. A root nearly tore of his head as it blindly snapped at him, and Gabriel rammed his knife into it, letting it lift him up from the ground. Somehow he managed to hold on as it writhed and snapped, trying to shake him off.

Being lifted into the air he could survey the damage he had done within a few seconds. It was just a small area, but the Loroque’s surface was ablaze, proving that the beast really could burn like some of its smaller counterparts. Clinging to the swinging root Gabriel also saw that Jack was still dashing around with as much agility as a Falcon, avoiding the front legs and maw of the beast, feinting manoeuvres and forcing the Loroque to swing its head widely to keep him it its sights. He was aiming powerful blasts at the Loroque’s eyes, blinding it whenever possible. It did turn its head away, seemingly not having lost any of the eyes yet, but unless it could regenerate those within seconds it was only a matter of time until Jack had it completely blinded.

Gabriel tore his knife from the root and let go of it as it swung in such a way that it threw him straight towards one of the moving legs. This time he couldn’t roll into it gracefully, having to take the impact that knocked the air out of his lungs as he leapt from one moving appendage to the other. He did manage to cling on though.

Repeating the same process as before he ran, this time letting gravity speeding him up uncontrollably as he sped down the massive leg with a trail of fire behind him. Gabriel could hear it crack and roar up to life, a manic glee filling him as he realized that he was truly bringing fire and brimstone to the damned beast.

As he reached the end of the leg he found himself still up at dizzying heights, the Wind’s cocoon looking like a pebble from up there. Caught in the rush of his spells Gabriel jumped up on a hard uneven claw, and then leapt down, unable to stop the descent even if he wanted to.

Twisting around mid fall Gabriel faced the leg opposite him, focusing on a quick burst of relocation magic and feeling his body being pulled towards it. He barely brushed the underside of the beast’s belly as he sped towards his destination in a second, trailing smoke and fire behind him. 

The second Gabriel reached the other leg he swung around, climbing up and back towards the Loroque’s back as quick as he could. There was no time to lose, they needed to have this entire thing burning before the Loroque could get a lucky hit or tired them out too much to go on. Now was their best chance.

When Gabriel finally reached the very top, standing right at the junction of the leg and the tail, currently the highest point of the Loroque as Jack had shot down on his wild chase, he turned to see the damage he had caused so far. Which was…

Barely anything at all.

The pockets of hellfire weren’t spreading, and on the spot where Gabriel had landed initially it was already extinguished. Roots slapped down to choke it out, soil twisted and was pushed down to be covered by more from the depths of the Loroque’s body. The parts that had been consumed by fire after all where sucked down, quickly replaced by faintly glowing roots and vines.

Never before had Gabriel seen something like that. The entire _point_ of hellfire was that it could consume anything. And yet here the Loroque was using its energy to brush it off like it was nothing.

The brief lapse in attention nearly cost Gabriel his life as two roots shot out at him out of nowhere, whipping at the spot he barely managed to leap away from. Keeping an eye at them he ran down along the Loroque’s swinging tail. He prepared a blast to shoot back over his shoulder to pulverize the two roots pursuing him, snarling as they swung again, ready to-

The ground disappeared from under his feet.

Gabriel tumbled forwards, arms waving wildly as he tried to regain his balance, but there was no ground for him to cling to. He looked up just in time to see that the Loroque had sharply swung away its tail, looking at the mass of green and brown, and then it was already speeding towards him.

He didn’t feel the initial impact. He didn’t feel the way the air was knocked out of him again, but his body decided to recover from that shock just in time to feel the impact of rock against his back and the way the tail crushed him against the mountain side.

Somehow Gabriel had enough air left in his lungs to let out a scream as he felt bones shatter. 

The Loroque’s tail pushed against Gabriel, grinding him against the rocks, until it finally pulled away and Gabriel felt gravity take hold of him. He barely felt the impact of hitting rocks on his way down, breaking his fall many times over until he finally landed in the damp grass at the very edge of the Cradle. The horrible pain in his hip and legs drowned out whatever else happened on the less than gentle descent, and for a few seconds Gabriel struggled to breathe with how tense his stomach was.

‘ _That’s it_ ’ he thought as he tried to move his legs and felt a sharp pang of pain for his efforts. ‘ _The battle’s over…_ ’

With staggering effort he managed to turn his head, carefully shifting it until his cheek wasn’t pressed into the dirt to look up. The Loroque was smoking badly in places, but Gabriel could no longer see whether any of his fire still burned at the distance and with his blurring vision. The beast slid in and out of focus a few times before he finally managed to get a clear view on it.

Now rid of one of the mages harassing it the Loroque was fully focused on the airborne one. 

Jack was still in the air, still shooting blasts of magic at the beast, but by now he must have realized how futile the effort was. The chase of cat and mouse had reversed as well, as Jack was constantly swooping down, trying to avoid the Loroque to head to the ground, most likely to reach Gabriel. Each time the Loroque would permit him to get just a little bit further down before snapping at him with jaws or claws, always forcing him back up and out of the way.

Why couldn’t they destroy the damned thing?

All strength left Gabriel as his head lolled to the side and hit the ground again. His eyes fell on the roots of the Loroque, the ones that connected it to the ground. It seemed like it had an endless supply of those, and as long as it stayed anchored in one spot at the very least it certainly would be able to summon more to patch itself up. Just how many were there underground anyway?

As he struggled to not fall unconscious, a likely death being made certain by passing out, Gabriel tried to force himself to look at anything at all. His eyes fell on the orb on its pedestal, still glowing, still hidden by vines.

So that was it…

Of course two mages couldn’t defeat a beast that was feeding of a source that powerful. The Wind was being drained continuously, and perhaps the Loroque even had enough energy stored to outlast Jack without needing to feed fully again. If Jack even survived long enough to run out of stamina.

Anger filled Gabriel then, strong enough to burn away the coldness that was trying to spread through his body and take hold of him as he ceased to be able to deal with the pain slowly. That blasted piece of mud and grass had been leeching the world enough, and now it was close to killing two of the most capable mages Gabriel knew. He stared up at it again, wishing a giant hand would just come in and pluck the oversized lizard out of the ground like some especially wilful weed.

A giant hand… grand and all-powerful like that of a god…

All drowsiness left Gabriel as his mind raced to find a way to make that image come to life. There was no way he could call out to summon a deity. He wasn’t a holy man, nor did he know much of their business or have a connection to a god that would guarantee that he was even heard. He didn’t know how to reach the realms of gods, but he knew that even opening a portal wouldn’t necessarily call forth one of them. Those realms were inhabited by holy mortals and celestials besides the gods, making it likely that they would spot it but not do anything about the issue.

There really was only one goddess that would listen, only one that watched mortals close enough and who’s realm was reached easier than any other, even if opening up a gate was difficult enough.

Gabriel had once entered the Mother’s realm unbidden, knew how it was supposed to feel like, and how to open a gate. The Loroque wasn’t a creature born from necromancy, but its dark energies were the kind a goddess like that didn’t much like either, so she would do something to banish it. Or so Gabriel hoped.

He most likely would be pushed into the realm of the dead as well while trying to lure the Loroque in, but that didn’t matter. If he did nothing he would die in a much less pleasant way than simply slipping through a gate between realms. The Mother would hopefully not punish him too badly for tearing a rift into her world temporarily.

Gabriel permitted his eyes to fall shut as he focused inwards, drawing on the arcane energies that were deeply ingrained into his soul. Somewhere he could still hear explosions and a beast’s roar, perhaps even a man’s shouts, but that became muffled.

Like a gently overflowing cup the death magic filled every inch of Gabriel’s body, and then spread out from him over the rocks, creating the faintly buzzing portal. The mountain under his back didn’t feel real anymore, fading and being replaced by nothingness. Soon Gabriel was surrounded by an oval big enough to fit the Loroque’s head. It had to be enough.

Next, the lure.

With more effort than it took to open a gate to the other side Gabriel raised a hand and stretched it towards the Wind. He barely could gather up the magic he needed, having to tap into something that wasn’t directly influenced by arcane death energy and struggling to do so in his weakened state.

A thunderous crack echoed through the Cradle, drawing the Loroque’s attention, before a whirlwind of flames shot out from Gabriel’s hand and towards the Wind, engulfing the cocoon in seconds.

As desired, the Loroque let out a screech angrier than any sound it had made before. The loss of such an easy source of food and energy agitating it more than any attempt to cause it physical harm. It’s eyes turned to Gabriel, maw opening to display the countless razor sharp teeth.

There, got its attention.

Gabriel grinned weakly as he dropped his hand to the ground. He could barely cling to consciousness after that effort, the illusionary magic draining the last bit of energy he possessed. Now there was only slowly numbing pain and a strange calmness.

He could feel the beyond pull at his skin as the gate to the realm of the dead was trying to suck in those who were too close, could see the Loroque twist around and speed directly at him without realizing that a portal led behind the bait Gabriel had made of himself.

His job was done, all he could hope for now was that he would die before the Loroque managed to do something particularly painful to him.

Gabriel closed his eyes, satisfied with his plan, and hearing the roar of the beast above him.

Then something hit him hard, and he was being dragged along-

Dragged _up_ not down.

With a start his eyes flew open to see blue before him, the familiar blue of a coat he’d mended only a few days ago.

Jack was dragging him away as fast as he possibly could, ash staining his cheeks and sweat running over his skin as his fingers clutched at Gabriel’s arms. The momentum of the flight jostled Gabriel’s legs and he nearly blacked out from the pain, somehow keeping his scream at bay.

A strong wind was tearing at Gabriel’s clothes, making him feel like he was being sucked into a tornado, but he didn’t have the strength left to cling to Jack in turn. His gaze fell on the Loroque.

The beast was screaming, and finally it was a scream of terror.

Gabriel hadn’t witnessed its impact with the mountain, but now he could see the way the portal had worked. There was no escape for the Loroque, much as it screamed and trashed and tried to scramble and fight. Every root on its body was straining to stick into the ground, churning up earth and snapping from the effort as the beast was quite literally in its death throes. It was less like a weed being pulled, and more like a giant trying to uproot an ancient tree. For all of its fighting it was too late. No inch that had been sucked into the realm of death could be pulled back out again, the divine strength of a goddess triumphing over a creature that had gorged itself on magic.

With a start Gabriel realized that he was being pulled as well. The realm of death was tugging at him, dragging him back. It wasn’t the wind that was pulling at him, it was the portal. Only Jack’s powerful wing strokes were keeping Gabriel from falling into it, pulling him in the opposite direction.

For a moment Gabriel tried to speak, tried to shout at Jack to stop being an idiot because he surely would be dragged along if he didn’t let go. His tongue wouldn’t obey him.

After what felt like an eternity the Loroque’s screams muffled, and one by one its roots were losing their battle. One after the other was pulled from deep within the ground, revealing that its network of tethers was larger than the creature itself. None of it was any good in the face of a god, and soon the last inch of root disappeared. The portal twitched once, and then it collapsed in on itself with a hollow plop.

As soon as it was gone the wind stopped.

Jack nearly plummeted to the ground then, letting out an exhausted groan. Somehow he managed to soften the contact with the ground as he fell to his knees in the grass, cradling Gabriel to his chest as best he could.

“Can you breathe? Gabe, talk to me, please-“

Gabriel croaked out something that he hopped sounded like a yes, and then he was already being lowered to the ground gently. Warm hands were brushing over his cheeks and pulling at his eyelids, quickly moving down to pat his neck gently.

“Wh’t y’r doin?” he managed to ask.

“After that blow I didn’t know if you were alive,” Jack growled back at him.

Gabriel didn’t mind the tone, feeling himself relaxing with the familiar manner in which Jack was checking him for broken bones and injuries. He choked on his breath when Jack touched his hip, and immediately Jack pulled his hand away.

“Fuck-“ he hissed, eyes wide. “I don’t know if I can- I don’t know if I have anything that will fix… that. Not properly.”

Gabriel tried to wave him off, but only managed to pat the ground feebly.

“’s fine. If you could- make the pain less-“

Jack nodded, gently pillowed Gabriel’s head in his lap, and reached into his coat to search for something to numb Gabriel’s suffering with. Despite the fear in Jack’s eyes Gabriel figured that he wouldn’t die from his wounds. Sure, Jack couldn’t heal them right away, or at all with how massive his injuries must be, but he would at least keep it from getting any worse. No danger of infections and dying from dehydration or hunger and all that, and Gabriel was in too much pain to care what those injuries would do to him otherwise.

Something close to them cracked loudly, followed by splintering wood.

Immediately Gabriel tensed up and saw how Jack was raising his hand to summon the staff he’d dropped somewhere. They looked around widely, trying to see if perhaps some piece of the Loroque had survived. Instead what they saw was that Jack had landed only a few feet away from the pedestal with the amber orb, where the noise was coming from.

The dried vines around it were cracking and bursting, falling off one by one as the amber started to glow. It was hard to make out, but Gabriel could see cracks run over the surface as well. With each bursting sound the amber glowed brighter and brighter, reaching a beautiful brilliant gold within moments, until finally it broke open, sending pieces of amber and sap flying everywhere.

The two men waited with bated breath as the thing inside glowed blindingly for a few seconds, before it started moving towards them.

It was small, all things considered, roughly the size of a melon and floating a little unsteadily. As it approached Gabriel started to make out an elongated body, and something trailing behind like a shroud.

The thing stopped when it was right above Gabriel, hovering near the two men. Finally the glow lessened enough for him to see what it was. The thing still emitted a golden light, but it had dimmed enough to see a strange rounded body, with several pairs of what looked like a strange mix of fins and wings along its side. Pretty swirls covered the top half of the creature, like polished snail shells that had stuck on and become a part of it. Where one would normally expect some sort of tail or feathers, the creature’s body narrowed and faded into ribbons and strings that floated behind it like kelp rustled by gentle sea currents.

Two of those ribbons shifted and reached out towards both their faces. Gabriel nearly flinched back from it, but as it brushed against his skin it was whisper soft and soothingly warm. It ran over his cheeks and along his scars, his nose and lips and through his hair, as if it was memorizing his features. It did the same with Jack.

“Are you the Wind?” Jack asked quietly, unable to tear his eyes away from it as he curled his arms around Gabriel protectively.

The creature let out a light chirp, either an affirmative or just the sound it made normally, and spun around on the spot. It was very pretty, and golden dust rained down from it as it moved. More ribbons joined its exploration of the mages, pausing as it hovered over Gabriel’s stomach and his shattered legs and hip. A sudden pleasant warmth spread through Gabriel, numbing the pain nearly completely and filling him with a comforting bliss, somehow reminding him of Jack’s fields of healing.

Then the Wind dashed up into the air, spun again, and started dancing in circles around the two men, chirping and singing as more golden dust rained down and covered them with a faint glow. It was an enchanting sight, the movements of the creature graceful and light, but full of joy and a childish sort of playfulness. Its ribbons kept brushing against Gabriel and Jack’s bodies, teasing and fluffing up Jack’s hair.

When Jack reached out towards it the Wind nudged against his hand, chirped at him and spun out of reach to nuzzle against Gabriel’s cheek for a moment, before darting away once more.

Gabriel didn’t know if it grew bored of them, or if it merely wanted to try out its newfound freedom as quickly as possible, but the Wind soon flew away from them, to start doing circles along the edges of the cradle. After only one round of that the change was obvious.

Gone was the strange humidity and the feeling of being stuck in some deep forest. The sky lightened, and Gabriel felt a pleasant breeze rise up all around him. There was something warm and familiar about it, making him feel as if he was a child relaxing on some hill in late spring, feeling the wind in his hair and watching the clouds rush past in the sky. The sensation of peace and something being shifted back into place filled Gabriel as he watched the Wind dance high up above.

“We did it,” he whispered, unable to look away from the Wind.

He felt a strange fondness fill him as he watched it, and judging by Jack’s expression he felt the same.

“Did you imagine the Wind to be like that?” Jack asked after a while.

“No.”

They watched quietly as the Wind started singing, a beautiful song that sounded like a flock of strange birds of paradise. Eventually it rose too high to make out any details, only visible by the trail of ribbons behind it, and soon it rose higher than the Cradle’s mountain tops and disappeared out of sight completely.

Finally Jack tore his eyes away from it and returned his attention to Gabriel. His hand hovered over Gabriel’s hip for a few moments, before retreating.

“I figure you’re in no pain anymore? The Wind didn’t really heal you, but it cast some sort of protection and relief so that’s good at least.”

“Couldn’t expect more after the poor thing was drained for years,” Gabriel replied with a grin.

Jack didn’t return the smile.

“What the fuck were you thinking there? Opening a gate to the realm of death? You were nearly sucked in yourself.”

Gabriel managed a shrug at that, not dropping his grin despite the scowl on Jack’s face.

“Hey, don’t complain. I figured I’d either die slowly and in pain while letting that thing win or quickly while defeating that piece of shit.”

Jack growled quietly but let it go. His hands brushed over Gabriel’s cheeks gently, before scooping him up into his arms as gently as he could.

“But you’re unharmed though? Doing that little trick didn’t injure you in some messed up way, did it?”

Gabriel paused as he considered. He felt exhausted but nothing about his magic had changed at all. The euphoria of victory and whatever the Wind had done to ease his pain was clouding his mind, yet somehow he felt like there was a woman’s voice at the back of his mind, calling to him.

‘ _You used my powers in a trick._ ’

‘ _You owe me._ ’

‘ _Your debt will be collected._ ’

He pushed it aside for now, not feeling the least bit disturbed for some reason but feeling a shiver of pleasant anticipation run down his spine.

“I’m fine,” he said, his grin softening into a proper smile, and finally Jack cracked a smile as well.

“We really did it…” he said.

“Then let's get ourselves home and have people celebrate us at heroes.”

Jack laughed and picked Gabriel up as gently as he could.

“Sure. I hope you don’t mind getting home in my arms then?”

Gabriel wrapped his arms around Jack’s neck and leaned his head against his shoulder, the day’s events slowly taking its toll.

“Mind being carried in the arms of Zarrbar’s golden boy? Never.”

Together they made their way through the ruined ground of the Cradle, already feeling the sense of wrongness in the land around them righting itself. And far up above, dancing among the clouds, the Wind rose once more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> only the epilogue left, folks


	10. Epilogue - The Witch and The Reaper

The grass leading from the house down to the small river was growing tall once more, with wild flowers peeking out here and there. It wasn’t hard to walk across it, especially with a path slowly forming from repetitive footsteps, but soon they would need to be cut down just a little. Once the garden was seen to and all orders for potions and powders were fulfilled, there was no rush with the task of the grass.

Jack kneeled by the water, watching dragonflies dance over its surface in pretty blues and greens, and tadpoles looking for food in the areas that were shielded by rocks and wouldn’t carry the little things away. Not that the stream was that fast anyway. It was a pretty sight, and a nice place to sit and clean up the underwater weeds he’d picked. After taking out the tiny boat to paddle along and pick up whatever he needed it was a comfortable place to clean up what he’d gathered, and watch the life on the waterside. The parts of the plants he cut off could be thrown back into the water for fish or ducks to eat from there, making the animals start to get used to Jack’s presence.

It was a routine in the summer when the weather was good. Jack would take care of his garden in the early morning, feed the chickens and let them out of their pen, push the little boat into the river, and explore the waterways to see what grew where. It was nice and cool so close to the water, and by now he was sure he’d found most of what was of use to him as well. By the time the heat of the day grew too much he would return to the little house and either take a nap or set about preparing whatever was needed that day hidden in a cool room, focusing on any potions that wouldn’t heat up the house too much.

With the constant scent of potions being brewed clinging to the slightly crooked looking ivy covered house it was no wonder that the children from the nearby village had starting calling Jack a witch. Though it was perhaps a little strange to say so about a man with a warrior’s scars and one who bought a derelict house away from the village and then proceeded to fix it up without any use of magic at all.

Sometimes Jack would see them in the distance, watching him curiously as he worked around his house like a normal farmer would, and like most of their parents probably did as well. Still, he was the one who brewed potions and enchanted objects when needed, and he was the one who ordered books on magic where nobody else in the village pursued this. Hence, he was the witch.

A breeze brushed over the water and against Jack’s skin, providing a much needed refreshment. It was a perfect weather really, with only the sun beating down on him hotly but the air not stagnant and dusty like it sometimes got. Once he was done with cleaning up his plants he would be able to return home and open all the windows for the perfect temperature inside. It probably wouldn’t even grow too hot if he put up a couldron of beans to cook slowly, something he often avoided if he had to work inside during summer.

It was a little past noon when Jack was done with his underwater weeds. He gathered them up carefully, made sure that he had secured his boat well, and returned to his home. The chickens were clucking somewhere out of sight, probably hiding in the bushes around the house to avoid the sun. Jack hung up his plants to dry out of reach of his fowl, and then entered the main room of his house.

It was quite cosy, despite taking up nearly the entirety of the ground floor. Rows upon rows of bundled up wildflowers hung down from the ceiling, as well as tools to cut and work those. There was one enormous table made from heavy wood and several work benches, and shelves all completely covered with flasks and bundles and jars of powders, leaving only one small corner Jack usually ate at, not feeling like using what was supposed to be a small dining room. Despite how full everything it was it had a system, everything in its place and arranged in neat lines.

Jack went to the pantry to pick up a piece of cheese, bread, and some hard boiled eggs he had prepared earlier. Still eating his lunch he also set about mixing together some beans and dried meat with spices in a small cauldron, which he set over a low flame. He could leave that to simmer and it would be done by the time it was dark and he was done with his work.

A wax plate lay on the table where Jack usually sat down to work, filled with notes on what he had to do that day. It was easy to organize that way, and usually Jack could take his time in working through it. It was nice after years of wandering around, to just be in one place and make it his own, and work on little besides his magic. No more working on a farm nearly every day, no more endless fields and barely any opportunity to focus on potions and plants that weren’t for eating.

Jack worked quietly, grinding down dried plants to powder and carefully weighing everything on a small scale. He tended to prefer doing these things by hand, only casting spells where it was necessary for what he was creating. It felt better to actually go through the motions with his hands when he worked, feeling more satisfied with the results in the end.

Hours passed as he mixed and cut and spoke enchantments over his bowl until a brown paste was created. Jack took a wooden spoon from one of the shelves and snapped it in half. Then he held the broken pieces back together and rubbed some of his new creation on it carefully. After a few seconds the spoon began to tremble in his hands, and with a crack the broken wood reconnected to look as if he’d never damaged it at all.

Satisfied with the result Jack filled a small jar with the paste and put it away. He had been asked whether there was anything to fix wooden tools with recently, and the farmer in question should be able to use that jar for a year or two.

With this crossed off Jack turned to the next batch, a potion of good fortune, one of the most often asked for items besides cures for minor ailments and protection from magical creatures.

He worked tirelessly, mixing all he needed and occasionally consulting his notebooks on the matter. Each time he needed to let something rest during the process he would pull up another half finished project, always going back and forth to not have to wait for ages when time needed to pass between steps. Sometimes Jack would sketch the plants he had found in his research book, and note down exactly what he was doing with it to document any variations in recipes.

When the cicadas started to sing outside he got up to shoo his chickens back into their pen for the night, with the sky slowly turning pink where the sun would set soon. He made sure that his birds had food and water, and returned back to his work once more.

The cool evening air made the process seem much more enjoyable, and the scent of food was starting to mingle with the scent of dried flowers. Jack had enchanted all the lamps in his house to turn on when it got too dark to read, so soon the candles ignited themselves, saving him from the hassle of having to get up again and take care of that while he was busy.

So engrossed was he in his notes, that he didn’t hear how the windows creaked softly, and how the breeze picked up to let the candles flicker wildly. It was only when smoke started to crawl over the floor and between his jars of powder that Jack noticed the intruder.

He glanced up to see that the world had been shrouded in absolute darkness, his candles providing barely enough light to keep the darkness at bay and creating deep shadows. The dark snapped and twisted, curling around Jack’s hands like shackles, and a figure rose up from the shadows. A billowing coat, a scythe that dripped black wax from it’s edge, and a mask of bone stood out in sharp contrast.

“ _Are you prepared to meet the grim reaper?_ ” the shadows asked as the figure coalesced, raising a hand to call back the darkness. “ _Are you prepared to face death?_ ”

Like a thousand birds rising up at once the shadows twisted and rustled, before they all flocked towards their master and disappeared in the depths of the cloak. Flames flickered as the light returned and dried plants swung from the force of it, and finally the figure stepped closer to Jack on soundless feet.

“Are they just going to do this every time?” Jack asked quietly as he rose to his feet, and a hollow sounding laugh sounded from behind the mask.

“It’s their idea of fun,” the Reaper said, and raised a clawed hand to push back his hood.

Jack was in his space in a few quick steps, already working on removing the mask. Gabriel’s smile greeted him the moment his face was revealed, and Jack pulled him into a hard kiss.

“Missed you,” he growled, nipping at Gabriel’s lip. It earned him a moan in return, and the second Gabriel leaned the scythe against the table he wrapped his arms around Jack, mindful of his claws.

“I missed you too, sunshine.”

Jack helped Gabriel shed his heavy coat, and carefully hung it up next to his own. Then he returned to where Gabe had sunk into the one chair with a sigh, now dressed only in a black shirt and pants as the rest of his gear dissolved into nothing, and kneeled down to help him remove his boots. Though healed and seen to with both magic and medicine, his legs and hip sometimes still caused him trouble and became stiff, especially after a long restless journey.

“How was it this time?” Jack asked as he put away Gabriel’s boots and rubbed soothing circles over his thigh where he knew it would ease the stiffness a little.

“Relatively uneventful,” Gabriel replied and leaned back with a moan, allowing Jack to work his stiff muscles loose. “No weird wizards trying to mess with the world, just a few souls that had wandered over and probably didn’t even know where they were.”

Jack hummed as he listened to Gabriel talk about some undead souls that had been stuck with no way of getting to the other side. Sometimes it was strange to hear him talk about these things, but by now he was getting used to it.

It had been part of a deal, it seemed. Tricking the Mother into providing aid, and in turn Gabriel served her every other month for a fortnight, starting with the new moon and leaving in the middle of the night to return once his work was done. A grim reaper, wandering the world and searching for those who worked with necromancy to disrupt the natural flow of life, and to collect souls that wandered into realms they did not belong. A fair price, according to Gabriel.

As Jack rose to his feet again he reached out to run a hand through Gabriel’s hair, now long enough to really sink his fingers into the curls.

“It suits you,” he commented, and Gabriel glanced up at him lazily.

“Why, thank you.”

“Still doesn’t give you permission to steal my things,” Jack went on and gestured at the scythe against his table.

Gabriel glanced at it.

“Hey, I need it.”

“No you don’t, you just keep taking it for the drama. What use is it to you really? None, you don’t need it to do anything but make a scary impression on people.”

Gabriel pouted as Jack said this, shaking his head.

“Well you don’t need it either. Why do you keep insisting on cutting the grass here and there? You’re the local hedge witch, overgrown grass would suit you.”

“Not if the chickens get lost in the grass,” Jack replied as he picked up the scythe to put it with the other tools, into the empty spot where Gabriel had taken it from two weeks ago. He ignored the indignant muttering from behind, already too used to this game. Really, part of this was why he didn’t just simply go out to buy a new scythe for when Gabe was taking his.

“Where are your silly ladies anyway?” Gabriel asked, looking around as if he expected to see the chickens hiding under the furniture.

“Outside and asleep, we can go look at them tomorrow morning.”

A groan came from behind, and then Gabriel was moving across the room to wrap his arms around Jack again, cheek pressed to his back.

“You’re so warm,” he sighed, and Jack felt him move his head to rub his nose against as much of Jack’s back as he could. “And solid.”

“Were you flying through shadows again?” Jack asked. He wasn’t quite sure how it worked, having never witnessed Gabriel do it, but he knew that some of the Mother’s magic allowed Gabriel to quite literally melt into shadows and travel to any other place the goddess needed him to be. It tended to make Gabriel yearn for contact once he returned, though sometimes Jack figured part of that was just simply missing him.

Jack placed his arms over Gabriel’s, lacing their fingers together and enjoying the contact. Having Gabriel gone for a couple of weeks occasionally was a small price for seeing him alive and well, a hero in a peaceful world, but it didn’t mean he didn’t miss his partner any less. After they had reunited he disliked long separations, sometimes feeling like things were back to how it had been when they were apart, when Gabriel hated him.

“Are you hungry?” he asked after a while.

“You kidding me? I’m starving.”

Reluctantly Jack pulled Gabriel’s arms away from his body, but kept a hold on his wrist to lead him to the actual dining room.

“Good, cause the food should be ready by now.”

The dining room was small, with no furniture besides two chairs, a table, and an old cupboard that Jack had gotten from one of the villagers and fixed up a little. After pushing Gabriel down to sit at the head of the table Jack quickly went about setting everything for their meal. A lamp was placed on the actual table so he wouldn’t have to light the entire room, and then a cup with some heavily diluted wine for Gabriel to try. Next followed half a loaf of bread on a cutting board that Gabriel ignored to tear off a piece right away, a plate of dried figs, and a tiny container with spicy pepper paste to dip the bread in.

The beans were ready by now, cooked perfectly soft and just the right thing to fill you up after a day of hard travel. Jack knew that Gabriel wasn’t actually walking or travelling in the traditional sense, but it still must be exhausting given how he always ended up spending one day in bed sleeping when he returned.

“Thank you,” Gabriel said, already starting to look sleepy by the time Jack set a bowl and spoon in front of him.

“There’s more than enough for as many helpings as you want,” Jack promised and rubbed Gabriel’s shoulders before leaning his face against the back of Gabriel’s head. His hair smelled of smoke and something that reminded Jack of incense, a scent that always clung to him for days after his return, and one Jack associated with comfort and being reunited with his love by now.

“Ah, sunshine, I wish you wouldn’t always cook just the right thing when I come home,” Gabriel said after smelling his food with a delighted sigh. “There’s other things I want to do when I’m back besides eating. I’ve only got so many things I can focus on before I get too tired.”

“Is that so?” Jack asked as he leaned in close to speak directly into Gabriel’s ear. He lowered his voice to a soft growl. “You won’t need to do much when I take care of you tonight. You can even lay back and go right to sleep if you decide you’re not up for anything without any extra effort.”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Gabriel scoffed, but his ears darkened in a blush. “You know you’re too good at taking care of me to have me fall asleep on you.”

Jack laughed and patted Gabriel’s shoulders.

“Flattering.”

Gabriel picked up his spoon to finally dig into his food, letting out another pleased moan at the taste of what Jack could cook when he wasn’t travelling anywhere. Jack smiled, glad that Gabriel could appreciate nice hearty food and that he could provide it too. After filling up a bowl for himself Jack pulled out a chair and sat close to Gabriel. They were silent for a while, Jack letting Gabriel eat his fill, and Gabriel too busy shoving the food in his mouth. He insisted that he didn’t need to eat much or at all while off doing the Mother’s bidding, but Jack suspected that Gabriel wouldn’t be quite so starved if he took care of such things while away. Sometimes Jack wondered if he shouldn’t just prepare sandwiches or something similar for Gabriel to take along, but then again, that wouldn’t suit the grim reaper’s image at all so he doubted Gabe would accept it.

“When do you think you will have to leave next time?” Jack asked as he fetched Gabriel a second helping after a few minutes.

Gabriel shrugged, mouth full of bread and figs.

“Honestly, I don’t know. Could be something horrible happens and I’ll have to play catch with some more souls in two weeks. Could be not for a while.”

He smiled as he glanced at Jack.

“But I feel like I might not need to do anything at all until the harvest festivals start.”

That was about three months from now. Jack immediately perked up at that, though he tried not to show it. What Gabriel was doing was necessary, a service to a goddess who now was his patron. And yet, the rest of the summer spent with Gabriel at his side, just living a quiet life until he had to leave again… It wasn’t much different than if he had been a merchant, occasionally leaving for a business trip or something similar.

“We have a lot of time then,” Jack said. “Hope you won’t get bored here.”

A soft smile spread on Gabriel’s face. He dropped his spoon to cup Jack’s face in his hands to pull him in for a kiss, tasting of spices and the sweetness of the dried fruit.

“I’d only get bored if you left me alone.”

“That won’t happen,” Jack promised quickly, before he was silenced with another kiss.

“Then don’t worry,” Gabriel told him and kissed across the scar that ran over Jack’s cheek. 

After he quickly returned his attention to his food, so Jack did the same. They didn’t talk after that until Jack reached for the bread to sop up the last bit of his food from the bowl. Something brushed against his arm, and as he looked he saw tendrils of smoke wrap around him, shifting and getting into his space, before solidifying into the shape of Gabriel, now sitting in Jack’s lap and face pressed against his neck.

“Take me upstairs,” Gabriel demanded. “I’ve not slept in a real bed for a fortnight.”

“I still want dessert,” Jack replied jokingly, earning a quick jab to his ribs.

“ _I’m_ your dessert.”

Jack laughed and pushed back the chair to stand up. Gabriel dissolved into smoke again, just to reappear a second later, this time with his legs wrapped around Jack’s waist and clinging to him easily.

“You know it’ll be hard to walk up the stairs like this?” Jack asked, earning a shrug.

“I believe in you.”

Making sure that his hold on Gabriel was secure Jack carefully made his way towards the narrow stairs and up. The lamps extinguished themselves as he walked by, leaving the house in darkness. Jack could feel Gabriel’s heartbeat where their chests were pressed together, and his curls were tickling his neck.

What a strange pair they made, Jack mused. A hedge witch of a tiny village, and the Grim Reaper…

They could have lived a heroes in Aleon, could be cheered on and be accepted into whatever circle of mages they wanted to. Their heroic deeds had been brought to the King’s attention before they even arrived in the capital of Dubleyes, apparently done so by several priests of the Mother who had received a vision from the goddess. 

Instead they were here, at the edge of a small nameless village, in a crooked overgrown house with a garden a bunch of chickens. 

As Jack reached the top of the stairs to push open the door to their bedroom, Gabriel’s lips tracing across his jaw, he knew that he could never have hoped to be happier there, than he was in this very moment. He shut the door, and the last light in the house extinguished itself, leaving the witch and the reaper in a cocoon of darkness, together, in a world of their own.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> aaaaand, end! Thank you everyone for reading! I had so much fun writing this, and I'm glad that so many of you enjoyed this as well. 
> 
> Many thanks to everyone who left sweet comments, and to Helena for cheering me on from the start!


End file.
